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What Black Women With Ovarian Cancer Need to Know About Genetic Testing
If you are a Black American who’s already living with ovarian cancer, genetic testing may not be top of mind. But medical guidelines state that anyone diagnosed with ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer should be offered genetic testing, because it can help you make informed decisions about your cancer journey.
Having genetic testing after an ovarian cancer diagnosis could actually mean saving your life, as well as the lives of both the women and men in your family.
But, because Black Americans with ovarian cancer are far less likely than white Americans to get genetic testing, it’s important to have all the information and resources available to make sure everyone who needs testing has access to it.
“If you don’t know your underlying genetic test results, you can’t be offered life-preserving or lifesaving therapy,” says Elena Ratner, MD, a gynecologic oncologist at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut.
Source: Everyday Health