By KrisAnn Talarico, LCSW, OSW-C and Amy Colver, LCSW,

Welcome to AOSW Connections, our new and improved newsletter! We hope it will be a connection point for you to the people, resources and insights that fuel and promote our profession. You may have noticed that our newsletter has been on a brief hiatus since the early days of the pandemic. Similar to our team, you might be saying, “Has that been a minute or a month?” Either way, it seems only fitting that our first release under our new moniker center around COVID-19 and Cancer, the ways in which the pandemic has reshaped psycho-oncology care.

There is no question that COVID-19 has transformed the landscape of oncology care, mental health care, and psychosocial oncology in the last year and a half. Culturally we are seeing a greater appreciation of what contributes to emotional wellbeing, and this context impacts how our patients and families experience their healthcare and their cancer experience. Presented in this issue are reflections on those changes, advocacy opportunities for improved patient support and greater attention to the sequelae of the pandemic, including the impact to our healthcare colleagues. We hope within it you will draw inspiration, encouragement, and levity. You deserve it.