This article is part of the supplement: Familial Aspects of Cancer 2011 Research and Practice

Open Access Meeting abstract

Looking for RED FLAGS: identifying and supporting patients at risk of adverse psychological responses to genetic counselling and testing

S Buscombe

  • Correspondence: S Buscombe

Author Affiliations

The Familial Cancer Centre, Peter McCallum Cancer Institute, Locked Bag 1, A’Beckett Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 8006, Australia

Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 2012, 10(Suppl 2):A17 doi:10.1186/1897-4287-10-S2-A17


The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.hccpjournal.com/content/10/S2/A17


Published:12 April 2012

© 2012 Buscombe; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Meeting abstract

There is a significant body of research indicating having a genetic condition is emotionally burdensome for the individual and their family. One goal of cancer genetic counselling is to assist patients to adapt to the news that they and family members are at significantly increased risk of developing cancer. Numerous studies have shown that the majority of patients who attend cancer genetic services do not report significantly increased long-term psychological distress. However, a small number of patients present with pre-existing complex psychological issues or particular personality traits which are not readily apparent. This subgroup of individuals may experience adverse psychological responses and complex adjustment challenges following their participation in the genetic counselling process.