Hospital News
MMC Now Offering Genetic Testing For Hereditary Cancer At Women's Imaging Center
October 08, 2025
LAS CRUCES, NM (Oct. 8, 2025) – To empower and inform patients who have a personal and/or family history of cancer, Memorial Medical Center is now offering a hereditary cancer risk assessment and genetic testing to qualifying individuals during their routine mammogram screening. This test looks for mutations in genes that have been passed down through generations, and which may increase an individual’s risk of developing cancer.
If an individual has a family history of cancer, hereditary cancer testing is the primary way to find out if they are at a hereditary, familial, or general population risk. This information helps patients and their providers make informed healthcare decisions. If hereditary cancer testing is recommended by a genetic counselor, it can be completed right in the office during the individual’s mammogram screening appointment at Memorial’s Women’s Imaging Center, located at 2735 E. Northrise Drive in Las Cruces. Learn more by calling 575.532.4301.
When patients arrive for their routine screening mammogram appointment, they will be asked a series of questions related to their personal and family history of cancer through a digital assessment. This information will aid in determining if the individual is a candidate for genetic testing. If appropriate, patients will then have the opportunity to review their family history with a board-certified genetic counselor over the phone and discuss whether genetic testing is right for them.
To prepare for these questions, individuals should get to know their family history:
• Know the history of cancer on mom’s and dad’s side of the family
• Know at least two generations of history (parents, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and other close blood relatives)
• Know details such as the type of cancer and what age a relative was when they were diagnosed
• If you don’t know, take the time to try and find out
Knowing if they are at higher risk for cancer empowers patients to make lifesaving medical management decisions. A patient and their medical provider team can work together to create a personalized plan to reduce the risk of developing cancer, or increase the likelihood of finding cancer at an earlier and more treatable stage.
A personalized prevention or treatment plan may include:
• Extra surveillance that may find cancer at an earlier and more treatable stage
• Medications that can lower the risk for certain cancers
• Based on the unique situation, certain surgeries can greatly lower risk
• If the individual has been diagnosed with cancer, test results may help determine appropriate treatment options
Memorial’s Women’s Imaging Center uses the Myriad Genetics MyRisk Hereditary Cancer Test to evaluate 48 genes to help us identify your risk of developing 11 different types of hereditary cancer. Learn more about Myriad Genetics and the MyRisk Hereditary Cancer Test.