The Value Of Genetic Counselors: Analysis

Last year, Opal went to the doctor for a strange lump in her breast. Thankfully, it was not cancer, but the doctor delivered a grim piece of news. She had a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, which meant a high likelihood of a cancer diagnosis later in life. Opal had no idea how to process the information, so her doctor sent her to a genetic counselor. Not everyone has the same opinion on going to the doctor, and definitely not everyone reacts to a diagnosis in a similar manner; highlighting why M.D. Pim Suwannarat in “The Value of Genetic Counselors” stresses the importance of genetic counselors as a bridge of communication between doctors and patients. Yolanda Ridge’s novel, Inside Hudson Pickle brings the patient’s perspective of genetic testing
Hudson’s mother, in a state of panic for the majority of the novel, leaves a genetic counselor’s office in a state of calm. She becomes much more informed and prepared to take care of her brother and son. Similarly, a genetic counselor explains to a recently diagnosed cancer patient the options available to her, and what all the large, complicated words her doctor had told her meant for her and her children in Suwannarat’s article.
From a patient’s perspective, genetic counselors are much-needed interpreters who take frightening, all consuming subjects and break them down into small, understandable chunks. But, is a medically trained professional’s opinion of the field the same as a gullible patient desperate for reassurance? Do genetic counselors really deserve their place in the medical field?
According to Pim Suwannarat, the answer is a resounding yes. As a clinical geneticist, she works closely with genetic counselors on a daily basis and understands the value they provide to the medical community. “They fill a niche that clinical geneticists (like myself), perinatologists or oncologists cannot, because of their focused skills. They are the liaisons between doctors and patients – interpreting and explaining test results, outlining care options and even conducting their own data analyses.”
Such is the case with the genetic counselor in the novel Inside Hudson Pickle, who, as a character, is credible because the author of the novel was a genetic counselor. The counselor explains to Hudson and his mother that his chances of having a genetic disease are only 25% and so the wisest course of action is for him to forgo testing and live his life the way he wants to. “‘If you were betting on a game, the odds would be stacked against you being affected with alpha-1’” (Ridge 235). This is a different outlook than both of the articles, which heavily advocate genetic testing as a follow up to a diagnosis in all