Happy holidays listeners! With the year coming to an end, Cathy Gildenhorn, Beth Glassman, and our Executive Producer Kira Dineen have been reflecting back on a full three years of “It Happened To Me”. We’ve produced nearly 75 episodes and learned so much along the way. A good chunk of them have been exploring rare diseases and hearing people’s journeys from early symptoms, to diagnosis, to treatment, and beyond. With this in mind, we want to revisit an episode that takes a more macro view on rare diseases. 

If you're a long time listener of the show, you may know Kira Dineen is not only produces the show, but is also a practicing genetic counselor, so we thought it would be interesting to bring her in front of the mic in this episode to talk about how genetic counselors can help those in the rare disease community. 

Genetic Counselor, and our podcast co-producer, Kira Dineen shares her insight on when to pursue genetic counseling and how genetic counselors can help people in the rare disease community.

Co-producer Kira Dineen, MS, LCGC, CG(ASCP)CM has over a decade of podcast experience fueled by a passion for science communication. She has hosted and produced 7 podcasts. Her multi-award winning podcast, "DNA Today", is in the top 1% of podcasts globally. She was accepted into The Podcast Academy and has served as a Blue Ribbon Panelist for The Ambies. Kira received her Diagnostic Genetic Bachelor’s of Science degree at the University of Connecticut and is a certified Cytogenetic Technologist. She received her Master’s of Science in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College in New York and is a licensed certified genetic counselor currently practicing in Connecticut. 

On This Episode We Answer:

When should a person or couple consider genetic counseling?

Is a referral required to see a genetic counselor?

Does insurance cover genetic counseling for this?

Is genetic testing done before the visit? 

How many visits are we talking about?

Do you ever suggest adoption as an option? When?

How do you help people with genetic conditions?

Why get tested at all?

What have you learned from interviews with patients and rare disease advocates?

Do you recommend joining rare disease advocacy groups?

Why study rare diseases?

What is CRISPR? How could this help treat…or even cure…genetic conditions? 

You produce a rare disease podcast that focuses on nano rare diseases. What’s a nano-rare disease?

Stay tuned for the next new episode of It Happened To Me! In the meantime, you can listen to our previous episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “It Happened To Me”. 

It Happened To Me is created and hosted by Cathy Gildenhorn and Beth Glassman. Steve Holsonback is our media engineer and co-producer. DNA Today’s Kira Dineen is our marketing lead and co-producer. Ashlyn Enokian is our graphic designer. 

See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, ItHappenedToMePod.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to [email protected].