- With Mayo Clinic genetic counselor
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
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.
Latest entries
- Predictive genetic testing: What are the risks?
Sept. 5, 2009
- Prenatal testing options
July 11, 2009
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis option on a slippery slope?
April 17, 2009
- Can genetic tests steer children to the right activity?
March 3, 2009
- Family medical history can help predict health risk
Jan. 23, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Genetics blog
-
Oct. 24, 2008
Know your family history in assessing breast cancer risk
By Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
Being that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I decided to focus this week on assessing hereditary risk for breast cancer. Many people have a personal or family history of breast cancer and wonder how this will affect their future cancer risk or that of their family members. One of the keys to assessing your breast cancer risk is knowing your family history.
It's important to know that most breast cancer is not caused by a single gene predisposition, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 (two genes widely publicized by the media). The majority of breast cancer is caused by the interaction of both genetic susceptibility factors and environmental factors; we call this multifactorial inheritance. There is no genetic testing available for families with multifactorial breast cancer yet, as the genes with a mild or moderate impact are not yet known, but research is focused on better understanding these families.
In the 10 percent of breast cancer which is thought to be caused by a single gene predisposition, or a strong genetic factor, red flags in an individual's personal or family medical history include:
- Early-onset breast cancer (before age 50)
- Ovarian cancer at any age
- Cancer in 2 or more close relatives
- Multiple or bilateral primary tumors
- Cancer appears to affect every generation
If you are concerned about your personal or medical family history, you can consider being further evaluated and educated by a genetic counselor. To locate one in your area, go to the National Society of Genetic Counselors Web site (see below) and click on the "Find a Counselor" link.
A genetic counselor will discuss your risk for breast cancer and your chance to have an underlying genetic alteration, such as a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. They will also discuss the pros and cons of genetic testing, and what that means to you personally, as well as help facilitate testing, if you should desire.
Please share your experiences in this area.
5 comments posted