AOSW Connections
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Colver, MSSA, MA, LISW
Editor
Katherine Easton, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
AOSW Communications Director
Brittany Hahn, LCSW
Managing Editor
Patricia Sullivan
Contribute Today!
To submit a story or information for inclusion in a future issue of AOSW Newsletter, contact Amy Colver or Katherine Easton on the list above.
2025 Themes
February: Workplace & Culture
May: Therapeutic Techniques
August: Palliative Care
November: Caregivers
April 2018
Volume 4 | Issue 2
President's Message
Around AOSW
Happy Spring!
I am excited to use this space to share some updates with you about how your Board of Directors and management company (Kellen) have been hard at work on our Strategic Plan. Your three presidents (past, current, future) have been meeting weekly with staff with the goal of implementing the strategic vision, orienting new board members and supporting the work of other directors, and streamlining board processes. We are a great team and I am so appreciative of their skill sets and perspective.
From the President-Elect: Reflections On Leadership
For more years than I can remember (long before my days working in oncology), I’ve had a plaque hanging in my office that reads, “Stand Up for Your Principles, Even if You Stand Alone.” In recent years, however, I’d lost track of it as my office location and available space to hang these kinds of things had changed. Once again this past fall, as I found myself packing boxes and downsizing once more, I came across my old plaque.
AOSW Conference
Welcome to the Peach State
The earth is warming, fresh leaves are budding on the trees and the birds are returning to their northern summer homes…that can only mean that the 2018 AOSW 34th Annual Conference is just around the corner!
2018 Silent Auction - Call for Donations: Support AOSW Conference Scholarships
A highlight at this year's AOSW Annual Conference is Wednesday night’s Opening Reception and Silent Auction, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Research Report: Research Events at the AOSW 2018 Conference
This is an exciting year for research activities at the 2018 AOSW 34th Annual Conference in Atlanta! Whether you are an experienced researcher looking to share your interests with others with similar interests, or an oncology social work practitioner looking to get more involved in research, there will be many exciting research-focused events to choose from. Here is an overview.
Committee Updates
From the President-Elect: Reflections On Leadership
For more years than I can remember (long before my days working in oncology), I’ve had a plaque hanging in my office that reads, “Stand Up for Your Principles, Even if You Stand Alone.” In recent years, however, I’d lost track of it as my office location and available space to hang these kinds of things had changed. Once again this past fall, as I found myself packing boxes and downsizing once more, I came across my old plaque.
Education
Professional Development: Mindfulness, Kindness and Oncology Social Work
Within the daily practice of oncology social work, the present moment may hold the full expression of human life—joy, sorrow, strain, stress, celebration, fear and more. Any of these expressions of human life can be difficult to stay present to—we may want more of the good stuff and try to get away as fast as possible from the hard stuff. This is true for social workers, patients, families and our colleagues.
In the words of poet Yehuda HaLevi:
International Oncology Social Work: Home Visits, a Strategy for Modifying Behavior of Families Receiving a Hematopoietic Cell Transplant in Mexico City
I interviewed Claudia Posadas, a clinical social worker at the National Institute of Pediatrics (INP) in Mexico City. She evaluates potential hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) patients and their families for transplantation.
Clinical Content
Resources: Addressing the Needs of Sexual and Gender Minority Prostate Cancer Survivors
The George Washington University Cancer Center recently launched a new training program, Addressing the Need for LGBTQ-Affirming Cancer Care: A Focus on Sexual and Gender Minority Prostate Cancer Survivors (2017), funded through a grant from the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW). The program, now archived and available here, aims to help social workers and other health care professionals better support this specific patient group.
Sexuality SIG: Navigating Fertility and Sexual Health Education in Patients With Cancer
H.B. went to the hospital with what he thought was a stubborn infection. Suddenly, he was processing the word no 34-year-old expects to hear—"cancer”—and needed to begin treatment immediately. The next few days were overwhelming, full of tests and procedures necessary to save his life. He was angry, difficult to approach physically and emotionally, and he disengaged in any activities that were not a complete medical necessity. He received his induction chemotherapy and, after a month in the hospital, was discharged home.
Professional Development: Mindfulness, Kindness and Oncology Social Work
Within the daily practice of oncology social work, the present moment may hold the full expression of human life—joy, sorrow, strain, stress, celebration, fear and more. Any of these expressions of human life can be difficult to stay present to—we may want more of the good stuff and try to get away as fast as possible from the hard stuff. This is true for social workers, patients, families and our colleagues.
In the words of poet Yehuda HaLevi:
International Oncology Social Work: Home Visits, a Strategy for Modifying Behavior of Families Receiving a Hematopoietic Cell Transplant in Mexico City
I interviewed Claudia Posadas, a clinical social worker at the National Institute of Pediatrics (INP) in Mexico City. She evaluates potential hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) patients and their families for transplantation.
SIG Updates
Integrative Oncology SIG: Embracing the Healing Art of Reiki in Modern Times
If you have heard about Reiki but still don’t understand what it is, you are not alone. This ancient Japanese healing therapy is being talked about more and more as western cultures like ours seek to explore holistic ways to heal not just our bodies but our “whole selves”—body, mind and spirit.
Sexuality SIG: Navigating Fertility and Sexual Health Education in Patients With Cancer
H.B. went to the hospital with what he thought was a stubborn infection. Suddenly, he was processing the word no 34-year-old expects to hear—"cancer”—and needed to begin treatment immediately. The next few days were overwhelming, full of tests and procedures necessary to save his life. He was angry, difficult to approach physically and emotionally, and he disengaged in any activities that were not a complete medical necessity. He received his induction chemotherapy and, after a month in the hospital, was discharged home.
Pain, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care SIG: Community-Based Palliative Care - Case Study and Where to Learn More
For many social workers, palliative care usually means an in-patient hospital consult for a patient near the end of life. This is often driven by the fact that the medical team may be running out of treatment options with a viable chance of success. The goal in many of these cases is to have “the talk” with patients and their families about hospice services. This is a critical role for social workers on the team and when done well, patients and families walk away feeling respected and supported even in the face of a bleak prognosis.
Research
Research Report: Research Events at the AOSW 2018 Conference
This is an exciting year for research activities at the 2018 AOSW 34th Annual Conference in Atlanta! Whether you are an experienced researcher looking to share your interests with others with similar interests, or an oncology social work practitioner looking to get more involved in research, there will be many exciting research-focused events to choose from. Here is an overview.
Sex and Cancer: Intimacy, Romance, and Love After Diagnosis and Treatment by Saketh R. Guntupalli & Maryann Karinch
In 2017, the American Cancer Society estimated there were more than 250,000 new cases of female breast cancer and almost 108,000 new cases of gynecologic cancers (i.e., cervical, uterine/endometrial, ovarian, vulvar and vaginal) in the United States. The 5-year survival rate across all stages of breast cancer was 90 percent. In comparison, overall 5-year survival rates across all stages of specific gynecologic cancers varied widely, ranging from 46 percent for ovarian cancer to 82 percent for uterine/endometrial cancer. It is within this specific context that the physician-survivor team of Saketh Guntupalli, MD, and Maryann Karinch co-wrote Sex and Cancer.
Book Review
Sex and Cancer: Intimacy, Romance, and Love After Diagnosis and Treatment by Saketh R. Guntupalli & Maryann Karinch
In 2017, the American Cancer Society estimated there were more than 250,000 new cases of female breast cancer and almost 108,000 new cases of gynecologic cancers (i.e., cervical, uterine/endometrial, ovarian, vulvar and vaginal) in the United States. The 5-year survival rate across all stages of breast cancer was 90 percent. In comparison, overall 5-year survival rates across all stages of specific gynecologic cancers varied widely, ranging from 46 percent for ovarian cancer to 82 percent for uterine/endometrial cancer. It is within this specific context that the physician-survivor team of Saketh Guntupalli, MD, and Maryann Karinch co-wrote Sex and Cancer.
Diversity & Inclusion
Resources: Addressing the Needs of Sexual and Gender Minority Prostate Cancer Survivors
The George Washington University Cancer Center recently launched a new training program, Addressing the Need for LGBTQ-Affirming Cancer Care: A Focus on Sexual and Gender Minority Prostate Cancer Survivors (2017), funded through a grant from the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW). The program, now archived and available here, aims to help social workers and other health care professionals better support this specific patient group.
Kudos
KUDOS! AOSW Members Achievements
Greetings AOSW Members! It is a great pleasure to showcase the following AOSW members and their accomplishments. Please take a moment to recognize these wonderful oncology social workers who have been awarded, honored, published, licensed and certified in their endeavors.
Member Spotlight
Member Spotlight: Dennis Heffern, MSW, LCSW
How long have you been an oncology social worker?
Since 2002; I am coming up on completing my 16th year.
KUDOS! AOSW Members Achievements
Greetings AOSW Members! It is a great pleasure to showcase the following AOSW members and their accomplishments. Please take a moment to recognize these wonderful oncology social workers who have been awarded, honored, published, licensed and certified in their endeavors.