Karvoski Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Saint Francis Hospital

Karvoski Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Saint Francis, in partnership with Smilow Cancer Hospital, is composed of an interdisciplinary team that includes geneticists, genetic counselors, physicians, and nurses who work together with the goal of providing cancer risk assessment and taking steps to prevent the development of cancer. Patients that are considered at risk for a familial or hereditary cancer receive genetic counseling and testing so informed medical decisions can be based on their own personal risk assessment. Individuals not suspicious for having a genetic predisposition also receive personalized information on how to lower their cancer risk. These interventions can have a huge impact on a person’s life by allowing them to better manage their health and reduce their risk of ever developing cancer.

Clinical Care and Research:

Our team is committed to providing a comprehensive plan to help assist patients and their families with all aspects of the risk assessment and testing process, surveillance, surgical decision-making, and follow-up care. We also offer enrollment in research clinical trials aimed at helping to determine additional causes of hereditary cancers.
If your personal and/or family history meets any of the listed risk factors, you can benefit from our Program’s personalized risk assessment and a discussion of the risks and benefits of testing options. This process includes an initial appointment with a genetic counselor to discuss your personal and family history, the likelihood that the cancers in your family are hereditary, the available genetic testing options, the risks, benefits, and limitations of testing, and available management options. If you decide to pursue testing, it can be coordinated at your initial appointment.
Our Program is a component of Yale Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute.

Who may be at risk for a hereditary or familial cancer? People with:

• A personal or family history of early-onset cancer (younger than 45 - 50 years)
• Several family members on the same side of the family with cancer
• A personal or family history of breast cancer and Jewish ancestry
• A personal or family history of ovarian, pancreatic, or metastatic prostate cancer at any age
• A personal or family history of multiple colon polyps
• A personal or family history of multiple cancer diagnoses within the same individual
• A personal or family history of a rare type of cancer/tumor (breast cancer in a male; medullary thyroid cancer; sebaceous carcinoma or adenoma)

Our Affiliation:

Karvoski Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Saint Francis is a leading cancer care provider in Connecticut. Our partnership with Smilow Cancer Hospital provides patients at Saint Francis Hospital with additional services including cancer genetic counseling. Smilow Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Saint Francis is staffed by genetic counselors who are integral members of the Smilow Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program and collaborate with physician colleagues at St. Francis and at Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven in order to provide patients with specialized cancer genetics care close to home including coordinated care recommendations for complex cases.

For more information on our affiliation, frequently asked questions or resources, please visit the Smilow Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program website. 

To learn more about genetic testing for hereditary cancer, click here to view an informational video. Please note that this video was created for a particular subset of patients participating in a pilot program at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Some of the logistical information in the video may not apply to you if you are not a patient participating in that particular pilot program at Yale-New Haven Hospital. However, you may still find the general information that is shared in the video about cancer genetic testing to be helpful.

Karvoski Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Saint Francis Contacts:

• Karishma Mehra, M.D., Medical Oncologist
• Maria Frassinelli Sierra, LCSW, Cancer Program Coordinator
• Claire Healy, MS, CGC, Lead Genetic Counselor
• Elizabeth Del Buono, MS, CGC, Genetic Counselor
• Karina Brierley, MS, CGC, Genetic Counselor