Mary Ann Dyer RN and Sharon Curtis RN are the nurses helping patients through telegenic counseling.
Waldo County General Hospital was selected as one of two sites in the state to pilot telegenetic services videoconferencing with Maine Medical Center’s cancer genetic specialists. The service is funded in part by a Maine Cancer Foundation grant awarded to Maine Health. Now in its third month, four Waldo County residents referred by their primary care providers have received cancer telegenetic services.
The telegenetic services at Waldo County General Hospital include all cancers that have genetic risks, such as breast, colon, pancreatic, kidney, melanoma (skin), and others.
The Waldo County General Hospital team members include Ann Hooper, the hospital’s Imaging Manager who oversees the program, Kim Lenfestey, the patient navigator, Mary Ann Dyer, RN and Sharon Curtis, RN. The genetic specialists at Maine Medical Center include Amanda Lamb, ScM, a board-certified genetic counselor, and Dr. Susan Miesfeldt, a medical oncologist.
Karen Kelley of Searsport was the first person to take advantage of the new telegenetic services at Waldo County General Hospital. On her birthday last December, an abnormality was detected in one of Karen’s breasts. The Friday before Christmas she had a biopsy. When she received a call the next week asking her to come to the hospital, she expected to be told that she had breast cancer. She was correct. Karen feels lucky that her cancer was found early. She had a lumpectomy in January and then 33 sessions of radiation in Brewer. Now she is taking an oral treatment for five years.
During her treatments, Karen was able to maintain her counseling practice and her normal activities, including skiing. “I had to keep being Karen,” she explains. “My attitude was that I was going to keep moving forward…I am grateful that I didn’t have many side effects.”
Telegenetics was recommended to Karen because of her family history of cancer. Karen’s mother and grandmother both were diagnosed with breast cancer. Karen says it was really interesting to begin genetic counseling. She was asked to fill out a family health history form, including the causes and ages of family members’cancer diagnoses and deaths. “It really opened my eyes about how inclusive cancer can be,” she says. Her grandmother died fighting her second diagnosis; her mother has been cancer-free for seven years.
Six years ago, a close relative with a history of breast cancer underwent BRCA1 and 2 genetic testing. These genes are known to increase the chances of getting breast cancer and other types of cancer. Her relative’s genetic test was negative. Karen still expected she would be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime, because she is convinced that this disease runs in her family.
Now there’s another BRCA1 and 2 test, BART, that sometimes catches genetic defects that the original test missed; Karen’s relative will have BART. If this test is positive, Karen says she will also have the testing. She knows that this information will allow her to be proactive in her health. It will also direct her generation and the next to make decisions about genetic counseling and testing and preventive care.
If you have been diagnosed with cancer and have a family history of it, talk with your primary care provider about whether genetic counseling might be right for you.