Looking forward to reading your linked posts to get up to speed. I’m the mother of a pediatric cancer patient. My son’s cancer is a somewhat unique case with an overall good prognosis, but the frustrating setbacks and continued required treatment is extremely disheartening even for the strongest people.
I am currently trying to pivot my career into the oncology research field (my background is in chemical/biomedical engineering), hoping that I can get my foot in the door at our local university or the huge cancer research institute. I have been an active advocate, but hoping to do more.
Welcome, Kimmy. I look forward to your thoughts on some of my more technical posts! There are many caregivers/survivors of childhood cancer here and this is an important but overlooked group. Often, we assume that because a cancer is "good" or the patient is young and healthy, the impacts are minimal. I have learned that suffering is not comparative; it's individual. Good luck with your career shift. We need more people like you!
As a long term cancer survivor I am both grateful and angry. Grateful that the radiation treatment allowed me to live to raise my children. Angry that as patients in the 1980's we weren't informed what to look for regarding late effects and that we weren't followed by the universities that were setting treatment protocols. Late effects are real and navigating our medical system to locate knowledgeable physicians is daunting as well as a full time job.
Grateful that physicians like you have begun to make inroads into survivorship programs. Hopefully, resources will be in place for survivorship programs available to all cancer survivors.
I have a survivorship physician following me now but even she has difficulty finding the correct specialist for some of my issues.
Welcome, DeeBek. I hear you. We need more research to guide us (and a mandate to force us) to counsel and care for survivors not just during but after treatment is over. I look forward to hearing more about your experience with a survivorship focused physician.
Thrilled to have connect with your writing, Dr. Wentworth. I spent ten+ years as a Psychologist at UCLA's Cancer Center providing support to patients and families. Now I am helping to bring the collaborative care model from academia to community Oncology clinics across the country. Its wonderful to find a space where people are writing and talking about all of the challenges and opportunities in treatment and care. Thank you for what you do!
Welcome, Lizzie! And thank you for being on the team! Psychologists, social workers and chaplains are who first opened my eyes to the survivor experience!
Love seeing this newsletter! With trust in doctors trending at all-time lows it's no wonder so many docs are planning to leave the industry. The gaps in cancer patient care are indeed profound.
That’s fantastic you’re getting deeper into this. I’m sorry about your son’s diagnosis - but glad for the good prognosis. Happy to talk anytime if helpful.
Looking forward to reading your linked posts to get up to speed. I’m the mother of a pediatric cancer patient. My son’s cancer is a somewhat unique case with an overall good prognosis, but the frustrating setbacks and continued required treatment is extremely disheartening even for the strongest people.
I am currently trying to pivot my career into the oncology research field (my background is in chemical/biomedical engineering), hoping that I can get my foot in the door at our local university or the huge cancer research institute. I have been an active advocate, but hoping to do more.
Welcome, Kimmy. I look forward to your thoughts on some of my more technical posts! There are many caregivers/survivors of childhood cancer here and this is an important but overlooked group. Often, we assume that because a cancer is "good" or the patient is young and healthy, the impacts are minimal. I have learned that suffering is not comparative; it's individual. Good luck with your career shift. We need more people like you!
As a long term cancer survivor I am both grateful and angry. Grateful that the radiation treatment allowed me to live to raise my children. Angry that as patients in the 1980's we weren't informed what to look for regarding late effects and that we weren't followed by the universities that were setting treatment protocols. Late effects are real and navigating our medical system to locate knowledgeable physicians is daunting as well as a full time job.
Grateful that physicians like you have begun to make inroads into survivorship programs. Hopefully, resources will be in place for survivorship programs available to all cancer survivors.
I have a survivorship physician following me now but even she has difficulty finding the correct specialist for some of my issues.
Welcome, DeeBek. I hear you. We need more research to guide us (and a mandate to force us) to counsel and care for survivors not just during but after treatment is over. I look forward to hearing more about your experience with a survivorship focused physician.
Thrilled to have connect with your writing, Dr. Wentworth. I spent ten+ years as a Psychologist at UCLA's Cancer Center providing support to patients and families. Now I am helping to bring the collaborative care model from academia to community Oncology clinics across the country. Its wonderful to find a space where people are writing and talking about all of the challenges and opportunities in treatment and care. Thank you for what you do!
Welcome, Lizzie! And thank you for being on the team! Psychologists, social workers and chaplains are who first opened my eyes to the survivor experience!
Love seeing this newsletter! With trust in doctors trending at all-time lows it's no wonder so many docs are planning to leave the industry. The gaps in cancer patient care are indeed profound.
That’s fantastic you’re getting deeper into this. I’m sorry about your son’s diagnosis - but glad for the good prognosis. Happy to talk anytime if helpful.