Community of Support Available for Patients With Cancer

For patients who have recently received a diagnosis of cancer, there are potential sources of support out there, as long as they can ask for help and connection.

“If you're recently diagnosed with cancer and you're scared and you're sitting there going, like, “I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it,” that's understandable, and you have to be where you are right now. But just know that there is a community out there for you. When you're ready, if you're ready, reach out,” said Alyson B. Moadel-Robblee in a recent interview with CURE.

A health psychologist who holds a Ph.D., Moadel-Robblee is a clinical professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx in New York City. She is also the director of the Psychosocial Oncology Program, founding director of the Bronx Oncology Living Daily (BOLD) Program and co-director of the Integrative Oncology Program of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC).

“Just make the phone call,” she said. “There's no obligation. You can come and go as you please. It's really there for patients to join it when they like, and get what they need out of it as they go.”

Transcript

What advice would you give to any patient who wants to have a more active role in their emotional and physical well-being but isn’t sure where to start?

If you're recently diagnosed with cancer and you're scared and you're sitting there going, like, “I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it,” that's understandable, and you have to be where you are right now. But just know that there is a community out there for you. When you're ready, if you're ready, reach out. You can talk to somebody, like a BOLD buddy, who can say, “Listen, I know exactly what you're feeling.” You can just go to a group and listen. You can do creative arts, whatever you want. Just make the phone call. There's no obligation. You can come and go as you please. It's really there for patients to join it when they like, and get what they need out of it as they go.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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