How long have you been an oncology social worker?
I have been an OSW for about 15 years—and 40+ years in social work overall.
 
Where do you currently work?  
I am a Senior Social Work Counselor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. For the last four years, my assignment has been in cancer survivorship, mainly working with people who had breast, colorectal or thyroid cancers. Before that, I spent 11 years working with out-patients who had GI cancers. Prior to that, I was in AIDS Services for about eight years and, over the years, many other areas such as mental health, child welfare and adoption.

Privately, I do LCSW clinical supervision, which helps me be more aware of the range of settings in which we work. My motto is “Social workers always work in someone else's house.” While the core values and skills are the same, the setting impacts our work. Also, I am fortunate to work in a large medical system where we have a Department of Social Work. That is rare these days! Often, my students are the only social worker in their setting. We need to be there for these brave folks in so many sites.
 
Where did you earn your degree?
My degree came from Hunter College School of Social Work in New York City. The first part of my career was in New York City. What a life that was—working in Harlem and the South East Bronx in the ‘60s! I cut my teeth amid some incredible experiences under the supervision of dynamic social work clinicians.
 
How long have you been a member of AOSW?
I joined AOSW about 10 years ago.

Have you attended an AOSW conference? When/where?
Yes, I went to the conferences in Austin and Boston and had the wonderful experience of doing a workshop on Cancer Survivorship.
 
Other professional affiliations?
I maintain membership in NASW because it focuses on all social work settings. It does political work for all of us. That is not my skill-set so I appreciate the work they do for me.
 
In your role as an oncology social worker/clinician, what is one of your favorite resources to share with clients? Why?
The American Cancer Society is my # 1 resource. It has a broad range of education and service linkages and it helps people realize they are not alone. Also, it is a safe place for information about cancer rather than the bizarre information on the web. I do refer to other survivorship groups for on-going support. It amazes me that some patients have never talked to a person with the same illness.
 
In your experience with survivors, would you share a memorable story with us?
A young woman, wife, mother who had a successful career. She was a dedicated runner for years, doing all kinds of events and marathons. She was treated for breast cancer and one of the biggest disappointments for her was that she could not run. The “day” on which she became a survivor, she realized that she really could run again. She began to cry, jumped up and shouted, “I can run.” She left her husband and toddler in the doctor’s office and ran back to her hotel, crying all the way.

In that “little something more” section, what is one thing you might share with us about you personally, one that is outside of your work life?
It is so very important to have my “real” life as first place and my “professional” life as second. I am a better clinician when I am in a centered place and my life gives me that. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross used to talk about leaving our private lives outside. She encouraged folks to pause before we open the door to see someone. This gives me a moment to be centered and to leave my personal business outside. That includes all the system issues in the work place, traffic or getting to the market today. In the same way, we need to leave the professional self in the work setting and not host a patient in our ruminating brain or in the living room with my family. My world is filled with loving people, lots of laughter and a wonderful sense of security. For that, I must take action.
 
Anything more you’d like to tell us?
Some other mottos: “Patient first” always. “Cancer is the bad guy,” not the patient, family or staff. “This too shall pass” when the system seems crazy. When people ask, “How do you work with cancer patients?,” I respond that on a daily basis I get to see the strength and resilience of people. I am reminded that life is only one day at a time for patients, caregivers and social workers. I get to go home healthy, grateful and spiritually touched.

P.S. I am in beginners’ yoga and love it. I will probably always be a beginner and that is just fine.