Genetic counseling and hereditary cancer

They also provide supportive counseling to those whoalready have an affected child or family member.Genetic counseling is sometimes compared with discussions withpatients about genetic conditions, which occur in many medical set-tings. Most physicians and nurses provide some amount of geneticinformation in response to their patients’ queries, but this is in sharpcontrast to the lengthy process of assessing and addressing hereditaryrisks in an individual or family as carried out by trained, dedicatedgenetic professionals. Yet, despite the extensive clinical care and com-mitment that genetic counselors give their clients, there remain manyunknowns about the effectiveness and efficacy of genetic counseling.