WellSpan Health has partnered with Helix , a leading genomics company, to launch The Gene Health Project . Through this large community health research program, WellSpan will examine genetic factors that may influence a person’s health. The research will focus on three CDC tier 1 conditions : familial hypercholesterolemia, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, and Lynch Syndrome. Depending on their results, participants may be matched with a genetic counselor for education and to discuss next steps. Ultimately, WellSpan’s aim is to help improve access to personalized health care and support new research discoveries.
What I did learn was that 50% of the people with the genetic condition that I have have a heart attack. By the time they're 50 I call every positive result. And I say I'm really happy to tell you, we've discovered something that may well save your life. The gene health project is a large research project. We are going to gather an enormous amount of data. We hope to collect 100,000 samples from volunteers and use that information to predict who's gonna get sick and who's not going to get sick. These are the sort of uh programs that are only really available at, at the far off um academic medical centers. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could offer it locally? And we actually sequence their entire genome? But we focus in on three particular conditions which the CDC have identified as really important and they call those CDC tier one conditions and those conditions are familial hypercholesterolemia, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. And then the third one is something called Lynch Syndrome. Essentially, these are people who get cancers very early in life and the cancers can occur anywhere in the body. And we hope that just getting those three back as a starting point will actually translate to saving people's lives. I went online. It was simple. I registered, I received an email back with an order to go ahead and have the lab work drawn. 23 weeks later, I had my results and uh Doctor Khan called me directly and he said, well, you have a genetic anomaly of FH and we know that if you're a male with that gene, you have a 50% chance of having a heart attack by the age of 50. In this study. We're finding people like that for 30 years. I heard, well, you just watch your diet exercise more. I didn't wanna have this genetic condition, but I do. And now I know and now I have an opportunity to do something about it. I was set up with a genetic counselor through the gene health program. So a genetic counselor helps to explain complex genetic information to patients. So we really help to educate them on what the next steps would be and how they can use that information for their own health. What we don't want is, here's a test result off you, go and leave you well, span as an organization is committed to excellent care. Part of that excellent care is providing genetic counseling services. That is our job is to explain this complex information to them in a way that's maybe not so overwhelming. And the counselor took the time to really ask me questions in depth, my history, my habits, my health history, I think having that plan and saying, ok, now you're gonna go see this specialist to help reduce this cancer risk and you're gonna go see this person. Um, it really kind of helps them, kind of say, ok, this is my next steps. This is what I'm gonna do. Um This is manageable. I can handle this, but it also gave me the tools to help talk with my family, my Children on how important it is that they are screened as well. Generations of people will be helped by this. They understand that if they get a positive result, they're able to look to their Children, look to their children's Children, look to their children's children's Children. Our expectation is that we're gonna help a lot of people, the entire community will benefit from this. So if you sign up and you give us a blood sample, you won't get billed for the blood draw, you won't get billed for the sequencing, you won't get billed for the genetic counseling. OK. That is all provided under the research program. I now realize that by taking the right steps, my risk factors are no greater than somebody that doesn't have this. Now, I can live a long and healthy life. I don't have to suffer the same potential fate that both parents and grandparents. Aunts and uncles have in the past in some ways it's a new beginning for me. It's an appreciation for what every day has to offer.
