Say YES to Hope
BIOMARKERS & GENETIC TESTING

Your cancer has a story written inside it.

Testing can help us read more of that story.

Biomarker and genetic testing can reveal information that helps your care team understand what may be driving your cancer, whether certain treatments or clinical trials deserve a closer look, and whether inherited risk may matter for you or your family.

UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE CALL THE SURVIVOR LINE
Test. Understand. Ask what it changes.
YOUYOUR CANCER · YOUR STORY
Biomarkers Genomics Inherited Risk Treatment Clues Clinical Trials Family Questions
THE MOST IMPORTANT DISTINCTION

Biomarker testing and genetic testing are related — but they are not the same.

Patients often hear “genetic,” “genomic,” “molecular,” and “biomarker” testing used together. Knowing what kind of test you had — and what question it was designed to answer — can change the conversation.

TUMOR / BIOMARKER TESTING

What is happening inside the cancer?

Biomarker or tumor genomic testing looks for features of the cancer that may help explain how it behaves or whether a treatment or trial may be relevant.

  • Often performed on tumor tissue, blood, or both.
  • May look for mutations, amplifications, fusions, protein expression, or other measurable features.
  • Can help identify targeted therapy or immunotherapy possibilities in some cancers.
  • Can help narrow clinical-trial searches.
  • May need to be revisited as cancer changes over time.
Think: “What does this test tell us about my cancer right now?”
GERMLINE / INHERITED GENETIC TESTING

Could there be an inherited risk?

Germline genetic testing looks for inherited changes that are present throughout the body and may have implications for both your own care and your biological relatives.

  • Usually performed using blood or saliva.
  • May identify an inherited cancer-predisposition syndrome.
  • Can affect screening or risk-reduction conversations.
  • May sometimes influence treatment decisions.
  • Can create important questions for children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.
Think: “Could this information matter for me — and for my family?”
Kathy Baker, JD
A VOICE FOR GENETIC TESTING

Kathy Baker, JD

Say YES to Hope · Genetic Testing & Biomarker Assistance
“Genetic testing saves lives.”

Kathy helps patients and families understand why inherited genetic risk deserves attention and where to turn when access to genetic counseling or testing becomes a barrier. Through My Faulty Gene, people can find education and assistance related to genetic counseling, diagnostic genetic testing, insurance appeals, and financial-access challenges.

VISIT MY FAULTY GENE GET TESTING ASSISTANCE
FROM SAMPLE TO DECISION

A test result only helps if someone understands what to do with it.

The goal is not to collect a report. The goal is to turn information into better questions, clearer options, and meaningful next steps.

01
◉

Get the right test

Ask what is being tested, why this test is being ordered, and whether tissue, blood, or both are appropriate.

02
⌁

Know what was found

Ask for a copy of the complete report — not just a verbal summary — and know which findings were actionable, uncertain, or negative.

03
⇄

Connect the result to options

Ask whether the result changes treatment, creates a referral, suggests another test, or opens a clinical-trial conversation.

04
♡

Revisit when needed

Testing is not always one-and-done. The right timing for repeat or updated testing depends on your cancer and your treatment journey.

WHAT A RESULT MAY CHANGE

Information becomes powerful when it changes the question.

A meaningful result may not hand you one obvious answer. It may open a door to another specialist, another treatment category, another clinical trial, another family conversation — or greater confidence that a path has already been considered.

TreatmentA finding may support consideration of a targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or another treatment strategy in certain cancers.
Clinical TrialsBiomarkers can make a broad trial search much more specific and may help identify studies designed around a molecular feature.
Family RiskAn inherited finding may create screening or prevention questions for relatives and may warrant genetic counseling.
Your TeamResults may make another specialty — pathology, genetics, surgery, radiation, interventional oncology, or another expert — more relevant to the conversation.
Important: “No actionable finding” does not mean “no options.” It means that this particular test did not identify a clearly actionable result at this time. Your broader treatment landscape still matters.
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR REPORT

Don't leave with a report you don't understand.

  • What type of test did I have — tumor biomarker, germline genetic, or both?
  • Was the sample adequate, and was the test broad enough for my cancer type?
  • Which findings are considered actionable today?
  • Are there findings that matter for clinical trials even if they do not change standard treatment?
  • Was anything classified as a variant of uncertain significance?
  • Does this result suggest I should meet with a genetic counselor?
  • Should any testing be repeated later or with a different sample?
WORDS YOU MAY SEE

A few terms worth recognizing

  • Mutation: a change in DNA that may or may not affect cancer behavior or treatment.
  • Amplification: extra copies of a gene or DNA region.
  • Fusion: parts of two genes joined together in an abnormal way.
  • Expression: how much of a protein or gene product is present.
  • Variant of uncertain significance: a finding whose meaning is not yet clear.
  • Actionable: a result that may influence treatment, trial, screening, or another medical decision.
One of the best questions: “What does this finding change for me today?”
YOUR CANCER MATTERS

See the important biomarkers for your cancer first.

You should not have to answer a long list of questions just to learn what testing may matter. Choose your cancer below. We’ll show you the important biomarkers and why they may matter before asking for any additional details.

Want help connecting your results to possible next steps?

After you know the important biomarkers, your RoadMap can help organize your results, treatment history, possible next-treatment discussions, second opinions, clinical trials and support resources.

WHEN BIOMARKERS POINT TOWARD RESEARCH

Let TrialMagic use the details that make your cancer unique.

Biomarker results can help make a clinical-trial search more focused. TrialMagic uses the information you share to look for research possibilities worth discussing with your care team.

DiagnosisWhere cancer has spreadBiomarkersPrior treatmentsLocationYour priorities
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BRING THE RESULTS BACK TO THE TABLE

Your biomarker report belongs inside your multidisciplinary plan.

Testing is most useful when the right people help interpret what it means — and what it does not mean — in the context of your whole cancer journey.

BUILD YOUR TEAM Biomarkers & Genetic Testing
HOPE LIVES IN BETTER QUESTIONS

Knowledge does not promise an answer.
It gives you more ways to look for one.

Every test result is one piece of a much bigger story. The value is not in the paper itself — it is in understanding what the information may open, what it may rule out, and what question deserves to come next.

Your story is still being written. ♡

Have a biomarker or genetic report you don't understand?

Start with a conversation. We can help you organize the questions to take back to your medical team.

CALL THE SURVIVOR LINE
THE ALPHABET SOUP IS REAL

KRAS. BRAF. HER2. MSI. NTRK. It can sound like another language when you are still trying to absorb the word metastatic. You are allowed to ask what every letter means—and why it matters for you.