Skip to main content
Update Location

My Location

Update your location to show providers, locations, and services closest to you.

Enter a zip code
Or
Select a campus/region
(352) 733-0111

Hereditary Cancer Program

Appointments (352) 265-9796 Questions? Contact a trial coordinator

Genetic counseling at UF Health

Genetic counseling at UF Health helps patients and their families determine if they are at an increased risk of developing cancer.

Our licensed, board-certified genetic counselor, Lisa Brown, MS, LCGC, is trained to identify high-risk families to help them understand their risk of developing cancer and their options for prevention, early detection, and treatment.

Since 2001, the genetic counseling team has been providing comprehensive cancer genetic services, including:

  • Genetic risk assessment
  • Pre-test education/counseling
  • Genetic testing
  • Interpretation of genetic test results
  • Post-test education/counseling
  • Personalized recommendations for cancer screening and risk reduction

Learn more

Learn more about the benefits of genetic counseling from the National Society of Genetic Counselors website or by watching the video below.

Animation explaining what a genetic counselor is

How to be referred

Ask your healthcare provider to place a referral to the UF Health Cancer Center’s Hereditary Cancer Program.

  • Referrals from outside UF Health may be faxed to (352) 627-4970.
  • Refferals from UF Health providers should place an appointment request to “CANCER GENETICS-REF 226”.

Self-referrals/questions to:

Preparing for your appointment

After your healthcare provider places the referral:

  • You must provide your family history of cancer before scheduling by completing a pre-screening tool sent via a secure link through UF Health MyChart or e-mail.
  • The pre-screening tool will inform you if you meet/don’t meet the NCCN genetic testing criteria for breast, colorectal/colorectal polyposis, ovarian, uterine, or prostate cancer only.
  • The genetic counselor will review the completed information and determine if other non-NCCN genetic testing criteria are met (such as having a personal or family history of cancer not listed above, a relative with a positive test result, etc.).
    • Note: Meeting genetic testing criteria is not required to make an appointment. It helps us to determine your out-of-pocket cost for genetic testing.
  • Be sure to provide us with copies of any previous genetic test results for you or any of your family members by:

Confirming your appointment

A genetic counseling assistant will then contact you by e-mail, MyChart message, or telephone to schedule you for a short phone call to complete the pretest education and answer questions about cancer genetic testing costs.

  • Patients who meet genetic testing criteria typically pay $0-$100.
  • Patients who do not meet genetic testing criteria will likely pay $249.

The Hereditary Cancer Program does not bill for our services. Only the genetic testing itself can incur a cost. The testing and billing are done by a third-party lab. If you have questions about billing for genetic testing, those questions must be directed to the lab that completes your testing. Please email genetics@cancer.ufl.edu, and we would be happy to provide that contact information to you.

Getting ready your appointment

All appointments are completed via telephone or Zoom, so there is no need to come in until after your initial virtual session.

What to expect at your virtual pretest appointment

A genetic counseling assistant will:

  • Discuss the information with you, including the benefits, risks, and limitations.
  • Discuss the cost associated with genetic testing.
  • Review your options for genetic testing, what to expect when the results report, and go over how to collect your sample.
  • Answer any additional questions/address other concerns.

You may request to speak with the genetic counselor prior to ordering testing, and some patients must be seen by the counselor before testing is ordered depending on the complexity of the case.

Genetic testing is completed by collecting a blood or saliva sample sent to a specialized clinical genetics laboratory for analysis. The average turnaround time is approximately 21 days for routine and 14 days for STAT samples.

How test results are disclosed

All genetic test results are reviewed by our licensed cancer genetic counselor.

Negative test results

These are usually disclosed via telephone by the genetic counseling clinic supervisor or the Care patient portal, with the option to speak with the genetic counselor if needed. However, our genetic counselor may disclose negative test results by phone or virtual Zoom appointment if the case is complex.

Positive test results

Because of the implications for changes in medical management, including prevention, early detection, and treatment, the genetic counselor meets with all patients with positive genetic test results via Video Call or Zoom.

Our team

Photo of Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown, MS, LCGC, Genetic Counselor, Founder, & Program Manager
Photo of Kim Coleridge
Kimberly Coleridge, MA, GCA, Genetic Counseling Clinic Supervisor
Lexie Allen
Lexie Allen, BS, GCA, Genetic Counseling Assistant

Contact us

Our physical address is 1535 Gale Lemerand Drive, Gainesville, Florida, 32610. Our mailing address is PO Box 100383, Gainesville, Florida, 32610.

Our phone number is (352) 265-9796. Our fax number is (352) 627-4970.

Our email is genetics@cancer.ufl.edu.