Although most cancers occur by chance, about 10% are hereditary, due to change in a gene that increases an individual’s risk of developing certain types of cancer, often at an earlier age than usual. Identifying people at risk of hereditary cancer is important because it informs cancer screening recommendations and can lead to options for reducing cancer risk.
In this webinar you will learn how a person’s family cancer history and personal medical history can be used to identify people at risk of hereditary cancer, why it is important to identify at-risk individuals, and how to navigate those at risk to cancer genetics services. Misconceptions about genetic counseling and testing will also be addressed. Additionally, they share information about private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid coverage of genetic counseling and testing, guideline-recommended downstream care for mutation carriers, and an overview of laws related to genetic privacy and protections. You will also learn about FORCE’s programs for healthcare professionals and for patients who carry a gene mutation.
Piri L Welcsh, PhD
Vice President of Education
Facing Hereditary Cancer EMPOWERED (FORCE)
Dr. Piri L. Welcsh was finishing her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics at The Ohio State University when she read the groundbreaking research paper by Dr. Mary-Claire King describing the location of BRCA1. Guided by this pioneering research, she committed herself to the study of inherited cancer. Her postdoctoral project at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center was in collaboration with Mary-Claire’s groups and others to clone BRCA1. During this time, her maternal grandmother was diagnosed and died of breast cancer and her mother was also diagnosed and is currently a two-time breast cancer survivor.
Piri joined Mary-Claire King’s laboratory at the University of Washington in 1996 and spent the next 20 years working with her and others identifying other hereditary cancer genes, as well as studying how they normally function in cells. A few years ago, shortly after her mother was diagnosed with a second primary breast cancer, both of her mother’s sisters as well as her mother’s cousin were also diagnosed with breast cancer. Piri is a previvor of sorts in that she is part of a high-risk breast cancer “mystery family”, a family with a lot of breast cancer, but no known mutation in any known breast cancer gene.
Piri lives in Seattle, WA with her boy/girl twins and another son. Her family absolutely loves living and playing in the Pacific Northwest.
Lisa A. Schlager
Vice President, Public Policy
Facing Hereditary Cancer EMPOWERED (FORCE)
Lisa Schlager is a recognized consumer advocacy leader for people affected by hereditary cancer. As Vice President of Public Policy for FORCE, she spearheads the organization’s legislative and regulatory policy efforts, advocating for the unique needs of the high-risk cancer community.
Well-versed in healthcare and genetic privacy laws—e.g. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA), Affordable Care Act—Schlager is the point person on national guidelines and advocacy issues impacting the hereditary cancer community. She possesses expert knowledge on policies affecting individuals at increased risk of cancer, insurance coverage of genetic, screening and preventive services, and targeted treatments for those diagnosed with hereditary cancers.
Ms. Schlager holds leadership positions with a number of cancer and healthcare initiatives in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. She represents FORCE and the hereditary cancer community as an expert speaker at conferences, events, and in the media.
Angela Trepanier, MS, LCGC
Licensed Genetic Counselor
Director, Genetic Counseling Graduate Program
Professor (Clinician Educator)
Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics
Wayne State University
Angela Trepanier, MS, LCGC. Angela Trepanier is a licensed genetic counselor, professor (clinician educator) in molecular medicine and genetics and director of the genetic counseling graduate program at Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan. For over a decade she has worked with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease and Prevention to improve appropriate access to cancer genetic counseling and testing. Her focus is educating healthcare providers, community members, and trainees about how to identify families at risk of hereditary cancer, why it is important, and steps to take to initiate genetic counseling and possible testing for cancer risk. Angela is on the advisory board of the organization, Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered, an organization which support people at risk of hereditary cancer. She is currently president-elect of the American Board of Genetic Counseling and past president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
