Approximately 72,000 adolescents and young adults (AYA), defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2017) as ages 15-39, are diagnosed with cancer each year. A cancer diagnosis during this life stage generates unique medical and psychosocial needs as developmental milestones are simultaneously impacted (Institute of Medicine, 2013).
As oncology social workers we navigate our patients through both calm seas and stormy waters along their cancer journey. For patients with a prayer practice, their belief system also sustains and guides them. When a patient’s spiritual-based request, such as asking us to pray with them, intersects (or clashes) with our personal ethics and professional …
Spirituality SIG: “Will You Pray with Me?” A Simple Question—a Nuanced Response Read More »
Many thanks to the social workers who attended the Blood Cancer and Bone Marrow Transplant SIG meeting in Atlanta. Your energy and enthusiasm for collaborating and learning were amazing.
As Director-at-Large, I have the pleasure of overseeing AOSW’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and the SIG Leaders. We have been busy working together to plan new ways to enhance the meaningfulness of the SIGs. In the past few years there have been many changes to the ways SIG information is provided to members. And—we have …
The cancer process is different for everyone, no matter their race or ethnicity. Unfortunately, minority populations seem to face a greater cancer burden compared to others (American Cancer Society, 2014). Much of this difference is due to factors such as poverty and “lack of access to prevention, education, and high-quality treatment” (Moody & Mannix, 2011, …
Ambulatory/Fee for Service SIG: Providing Support to Underserved Populations Read More »
Hello from Philadelphia! Last summer I came on board as the Ethics SIG leader. I have been interested in ethics for much of my career, with much of my clinical experience focused on ethical decision making and end-of-life care. In 2012, I completed my Masters degree in Bioethics (MBE) from the University of Pennsylvania School …
The American Cancer Society’s 1989 "Report to the Nation on Cancer and the Poor" framed the basis for providing help for poor people who meet significant barriers when they attempt to seek diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The report states that “poor people often do not even seek care if they cannot pay for it …
Patient Navigation SIG: Oncology Social Workers – Are we Patient Navigators? Read 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 …
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 …
Sexuality SIG: Navigating Fertility and Sexual Health Education in Patients With Cancer Read More »
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.