Empower Hereditary Cancer
Screening in Miami

Most major insurance plans cover Empower when NCCN clinical criteria are met, such as a qualifying personal or family history of cancer, an ancestry-based risk, or a prior cancer diagnosis. Our team verifies your benefits and obtains prior authorization before any sample is collected, and we confirm coverage in writing before proceeding. For patients without coverage, or who prefer not to use insurance, a self-pay option with payment plans is available. Call (305) 537-6396 for a current self-pay quote.

A positive result indicates an elevated lifetime risk, not a current cancer diagnosis. Your TrufaMED physician builds a personalized risk-management plan that may include enhanced imaging surveillance (such as breast MRI or transvaginal ultrasound), risk-reducing medication, surgical risk-reduction options, and coordinated referrals to oncology and genetic counseling. We also help organize cascade testing for first-degree relatives, who each have a 50 percent chance of carrying the same variant.

Either, depending on the panel and your preference. Most adults at our Surfside clinic provide a blood sample drawn by a licensed provider during the visit. Saliva collection kits are available for select circumstances. Both methods analyze the same genes with the same accuracy.

Results typically return from the Myriad laboratory in about 2 to 3 weeks from the date the sample is received. We schedule your results visit as soon as the signed report is available, and you review it in person or by telehealth with a board-certified physician.

Hereditary cancer screening is worth considering if you have a family history of breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, or prostate cancer, especially on the same side of the family; a personal or family cancer diagnosis before age 50; Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry (roughly 1 in 40 carry a BRCA founder mutation); two or more primary cancers or bilateral cancers; or a known cancer-predisposition gene in a close relative. Your physician confirms clinical eligibility during the consult.

A VUS is a genetic change whose clinical impact is not yet established. It is not treated as a positive result and does not change your clinical management. Variants are reclassified over time as more data accumulates, and we re-contact patients if a VUS is later reclassified. For any positive or VUS result, we strongly recommend post-test counseling with a board-certified genetic counselor and coordinate that referral.

Yes. Many guidelines recommend germline testing for any patient with a personal history of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, colorectal, or prostate cancer, regardless of family history or age at diagnosis. Results can inform treatment decisions, guide surveillance for second cancers, and open the door to cascade testing for relatives.

The difference is substantial. Direct-to-consumer ancestry tests typically genotype only a handful of common variants and can miss the large majority of clinically actionable mutations. Empower uses full-gene sequencing plus large-rearrangement analysis, classified to ACMG criteria, with physician-grade reporting suitable for medical decision-making. It is ordered, interpreted, and acted on by a board-certified MD, not handed to you as a raw report.

Not initially. The first step is testing the person most likely to carry a mutation, usually the relative with the youngest cancer diagnosis. Once a specific mutation is identified, single-site testing for relatives is far less expensive and is almost always covered by insurance. We help coordinate that cascade testing across the family.

The Myriad laboratory is HIPAA compliant and does not share identifiable data with third parties without your consent. Federal law (GINA) prohibits employers and health insurers from using genetic test results to discriminate. GINA does not extend to life, disability, or long-term-care insurance, which is something we discuss with you before testing.