- With Mayo Clinic genetic counselor
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
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Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
"We must begin now to prepare for the future; we cannot wait until the details are known or fully understood."*
— David B. Schowalter, M.D., Ph.D., former Mayo geneticist, (*posthumous)
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C., is a board-certified genetic counselor who specializes in hereditary cancer syndromes. One of her main professional interests is the family medical history.
"Recognizing features in the family history which may suggest an underlying single gene disorder can have a huge impact on families," she says. "Identifying a genetic susceptibility gene can allow family members to more accurately understand their risk of disease and empower those who have an increased genetic susceptibility to take control of their medical management and lifestyle factors which may influence this risk."
She received her B.S. in biology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2002 and M.S. in genetic counseling from the University of Minnesota in 2004.
She was a clinical genetic counselor at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis., before joining Mayo Clinic in August 2006 as a genetic counselor and educator for the grant-funded Mayo Eisenberg Genomics Education Program. During her time in Wisconsin, she was also an active member of the metabolic subcommittee of the state Newborn Screening Program and co-facilitated a phenylketonuria clinic.
At Mayo Clinic, she provides physician and staff education about clinically relevant topics in genomics. She also manages multiple education projects championed by Mayo Clinic physicians and is a faculty member for Mayo Medical School. In addition to her education roles, she sees adult patients in the Department of Medical Genetics.
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Genetics blog
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Dec. 6, 2008
How to discuss your family medical history
By Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
Asking your family members questions about their personal medical history may feel like an intrusion of privacy. However, if you do it in the right manner, it can open up a line of communication which will benefit all. Here are some helpful hints:
Know the facts. Understand which health conditions may have a genetic component and which health conditions are more likely due to an unhealthy lifestyle or environmental factors (hint: see my last blog posting). Also, be aware of your motivations for collecting this information. Is it to persuade you or your family members to lead healthier lifestyles? Is it to encourage earlier screening?
Approach the approachable. You may already know if one or more of your family members has health concerns; maybe "Aunt Mary" has already openly discussed her health status. Initiate your family health history collection by talking to this individual first. They are more likely to respond positively and provide encouragement.
Choose the environment. Some families would be happy to share this information while passing the turkey, while others prefer to save the discussion until after the pumpkin pie. If your family tends to consider health a private issue, consider approaching relatives one-on-one, in an environment that is free from distractions. Ask permission to have the conversation. If they decline, accept respectfully, but state your reasons for hoping to collect this information and ask if there is a better time or place.
Listen carefully. If the family member chooses to share this information, listen to them with an open and empathetic ear. Acknowledge that discussions about their health can be difficult; and thank them sincerely for their willingness to share.
Ask permission. Additionally, ask the family member permission to share the health history information you collect with other family members and state your reasons for doing so. For instance, "Aunt Mary, an increased risk for colon cancer seems to be inherited in our family. I appreciate you sharing the details of your medical history with me. I wonder if you would give me permission to share this information with other family members. It might provide them with motivation to be screened earlier and more carefully, so we could hopefully prevent colon cancer from occurring in other family members."
Of course, these are only suggestions for making the discussion around family health history a bit easier. Please share your experiences or tips that you have used with your own family.
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