Angelina Jolie wrote about a very public double mastectomy , raising awareness of the risks associated with the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene.
I will give you a patient scenario and you will draw a family history. an example is below: BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 are autosomal alleles which are strongly linked to cancer, particularly Breast cancer. (see this fact sheet). Genetic counsellors interview patients to assess their risk by drawing a pedigree. You can practice drawing a pedigree here. As you watch this video, and read the links, make conclusions about the type of allele which may lead to the breast cancer phenotype.
This illustration is from a worksheet created by the National Genetics and Genomics Education Centre
Genetic Counsellors use detective work to sensitively discern a patient's risk for a genetic disease. There are bioethical guidelines which govern disclosure. And there's no easy answers for communication. Have a look at this scenario to see some of the ethical concerns, and imagine that you are a health professional in this situation:
