The experience of receiving a letter from a cancer genetics clinic about risk for hereditary cancer

Abstract

Direct contact may be an option for supporting disclosure in families with hereditary cancer risk. In this qualitative interview study, we explored how healthy at-risk relatives experience receiving a letter with information about hereditary cancer directly from healthcare rather than via a relative. The study is part of an ongoing multicentre randomised clinical trial in Sweden that evaluates the effectiveness of direct letters from cancer genetics clinics to at-risk relatives. After conducting semi-structured interviews with 14 relatives who had received a letter and contacted the clinic, we analysed the data using thematic analysis. The relatives had different levels of prior knowledge about the hereditary cancer assessment. Many had been notified by family that a letter was coming but some had not. Overall, these participants believed healthcare-mediated disclosure could complement family-mediated disclosure. They expressed that the letter and the message raised concerns and a need for counselling, and they wanted healthcare to be accessible and informed when making contact. The participants found the message easier to cope with when they had been notified by a family member beforehand, with a general attitude that notifying relatives was the appropriate step to take. They thought healthcare should help patients with the disclosure process but also guard the right of at-risk relatives to be informed. The findings support a direct approach from healthcare as a possible complement to an established model of family-mediated risk disclosure, but implementation must be made within existing frameworks of good practice for genetic counselling.