By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Many people think of genetic counseling as only discussing prenatal tests with parents.
However, there’s much more to the career than that.
Physician Gloria J. Morris, a genetics counselor who holds a Ph.D., helps patients understand their risk for hereditary cancers. She is also a clinical associate professor of medicine and an attending physician in the cancer genetics program at Upstate Cancer Center. But many genetic counselors are master’s trained providers.
“My specific niche in genetic counseling has evolved after my medical training in oncology, where I have previously specialized in treating patients with breast and gynecologic cancers, pancreatic cancers and brain cancer,” Morris said. “During my many years’ experience, I have seen the emerging importance of identifying hereditary mutations in DNA repair genes in order to best guide treatment decisions for patients as well as to guide other family members for cancer screening.”
Adding cancer risk assessment and specific gene testing to her practice made sense so patients and their families could better know their risk and treat any cancer present. Discoveries of cancer predisposition genes in recent years have broadened the field in genetic testing and helped more patients. Since this type of work relies upon research, the field is ever-evolving.
Morris majored in biology with honors at LeMoyne College. Her specific training then encompassed medical school with a research program at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, followed by internship and residency in internal medicine and fellowship in medical oncology, all in Philadelphia at centers which have strong genetics programs.
“As a team, I also work with master’s-level genetics counselors who have specifically sought degrees in multiple areas of genetic counseling, of which cancer risk assessment is only a portion,” Morris said. “Master’s-level genetics counselors also are skilled in prenatal genetics, inherited metabolic syndromes, and other disciplines as well.”
When a person is diagnosed with some kinds of cancer that can be hereditary, it’s important to uncover the potential risk for family members so they can know their options.
“Testing is being recommended more and more universally and therefore training colleagues in all specialties in order to accommodate this paradigm shift is an active endeavor,” Morris said. “Whether we detect a hereditary mutation or not, the testing process can be very fulfilling to either rule out a hereditary predisposition and thus reassure families or to rule in a hereditary predisposition based on a specific gene mutation and therefore optimize treatment in a precise molecular manner. Counseling on surveillance strategies in order to detect early onset of cancers at their curable stages is most fulfilling.”
Because of the sensitive nature of this kind of information, genetic counselors must be compassionate yet detail oriented.
“In addition, personable communication skills, empathy and the ability to easily explain complicated molecular terminology, are very important for a genetics counselor,” Morris said.
She encourages anyone interested in becoming a genetic counselor to “seek out specific training programs, gain shadowing experience in clinics doing genetic testing, persevere in study of the biological and other sciences and learn about molecular techniques and other disciplines to be able to explain the genetic testing process to patients and their families well.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage for a genetic counselor in New York is $93,050. Local information was not available.