MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
JEFFERSON CITY - Something as simple as taking a genetic test can save women from a familial breast or ovarian cancer, although there is concern in the medical community that some women avoid the test for fear of insurance discrimination.
Ellis Fishel Cancer Center provides the "Risk Assessment Clinic" that includes a test for patients who family histories of cancer -- particularly breast and ovarian cancer.
"Since we now what a genetic anomaly is, we can test family members, patients or if a person comes to us and has three family members that have been affected we can potentially test them to see if they are at risk", said Kerry Rodabaugh, a gynecology oncologist at Ellis Cancer Center. "Now the problem with that is if their test comes back that they have this anomaly, that does not necessarily mean that they will get the disease. It means that there is an increase risk for it".
Familial ovarian cancer accounts for only about 5 percent of all ovarian cancer cases. The test only identifies a risk factor only for that kind of cancers. Nevertheless, the results of the test in these cases are significant.
"We're deireasn(the risk) a high of 65 percent down to maybe as low as 5 percent. So that is a pretty significant decrease of the risk", Rodabaugh said.
Despite the advantages of genetic testing, Rodabaugh said that some women with a strong history of cancer in their families chose not to be tested because of fear that insurance companies will use the test results to deny coverage.
"The problem with genetic testing is that it is a not a yes or a no answer", Rodabaugh said. "That is why it makes it so hard for discrimination purposes".
"Their (patients') main concern is losing their insurance, because once they're diagnosed with an ovarian cancer, their medical bills are astronomical and they don't want to take any risk of loosing coverage."
Although Missouri has not had a case of insurance-coverage discrimination on the basis of genetic information, according to Maryann Coletty, the Director of Advocacy of the American CAncer Society, the country does.
There have been more than 200 cases of discrimination in the past few years, according to the Council of Responsible Genetics, a Boston based group founded by scientists at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of the main goals of the council is to prevent discrimination on the basis of predictive genetic information.
That is a goal shared by Rep. Pat Dougerthy, D-St. Louis, who is sponsoring a bill to prohibit employment or insurance discrimination on the basis of genetic information.
Although this kind of law exists on the books already, Dougerthy said that it doesn't protect consumers enough.
"Last year, the legislature passed a bill that tried to deal with this issue, but they did not succeed", said Dougerthy, who sponsored last year's bill. "They passed down a bill that was so watered-down to the effect that there were not good consumer protections left in it."
Dougherty's new bill adds a provision that insurance companies cannot discriminate against individuals or family members based on their genetic information or based on their request for genetic services. It also prohibits employers from requiring DNA samples or obtaining any genetic information or genetic test results from employees or prospective employees.
Several associations have voiced their support to this bill.
"We believe that genetic information is private and should not be used to determine jobs or insurance", said Penny Braun, executive director of the mid-Missouri chapter of the Alzheimer Association. "It is a personal and medical issue and therefore is private".
Ellis Fishel Cancer Center and American Cancer Society also support Dougherty's legislation.
"I cannot guarantee that the information will remain a hundred per cent confidential, which is why we are trying to push the legislation through, so we can assure it to our patients", Rodabaugh said.
Nevertheless, there some voices of opposition.
"Our organization believes that genetic information is unnecessary", said Herb Perone, Media Relations Director for American Council Of Life Insurance.
"But if the genetic tests are already done, we should have access to that information," Perone said.