The Person Behind Their Diagnosis: Understanding the Patient

Dr. Joshua Sabari and Jackie Herigodt discuss the Imerman Angels organization and the importance of recognizing the person behind their cancer diagnosis.

At the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, Dr. Joshua K. Sabari sat down with patient advocate, Jackie Herigodt, to discuss her organization, Imerman Angels, as well as highlighted the importance of recognizing the whole person behind their cancer diagnosis.

Imerman Angels an organization offering peer-to-peer support for patients with and survivors of cancer, as well as caregivers and previvors. The organization uses a database of approximately 16,000 mentors across globally to match patients with mentors who share similar experiences as them.

These shared experiences are important for patients, Herigodt explains, because it is important to understand the person behind a diagnosis; external factors like parenting, grief, and relationship status can affect how people react to their diagnosis.

Herigodt discusses these topics and more with Sabari in a live interview.

Herigodt serves as the director of Partnerships and Engagement, a Cancer Support specialist, and director of Programs and Outreach at Imerman Angels. Sabari is the editor in chief of CURE. He also serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of High Reliability Organization Initiatives at Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Sabari: Hello and welcome. I'm Dr. Joshua Sabari, a thoracic medical oncologist at NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center, located in New York, and today, I'm joined by Jackie from Imerman Angels. Jackie, please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your organization. We're really excited to have you with us, representing the cancer community.

Herigodt: Yeah, awesome. Thank you so much for the work you do personally, and also for CURE magazine having me on. I appreciate this opportunity. My name is Jackie, as you said. I have lost many family members to cancer, including my mom to lung cancer. My sister is currently going through stage 4 breast cancer, and I am a skin cancer survivor myself. Cancer is incredibly personal, and I hate it.

Sabari: I think everyone here at ASCO would agree: we hate cancer.

Herigodt: That hate fuels me every single day to help people through my work at Imerman Angels. I've been with Imerman Angels for almost 13 years now. Imerman Angels matches people; we offer peer-to-peer, one-on-one cancer support for all cancer fighters, survivors, previvors, and caregivers. This way, they can find comfort and understanding from someone who has been there, so they don't feel isolated or alone because they have their mentor. So, that's what we do.

Sabari: That's so important. When I meet a new patient, who has unfortunately received a new lung cancer diagnosis, people are looking for hope and opportunities, and they want to hear from those who have been through it. How do you approach a new patient who calls and contacts Imerman Angels? What do you do for them?

Herigodt: They'll go ahead and register with us, sharing what's happening with them. While cancer is obviously their diagnosis, there are also external factors. You could be a single mom going through cancer, or experiencing a divorce during cancer, or you might have lost a loved one to cancer. So, we really look at the whole person. We figure out what's unique to them, [yet not so unique that we can't help], because our database has over 16,000 mentor angels in 123 countries for all cancer types. We consider the individual holistically, focusing on what psychosocial support would most benefit them. That person could be their mentor, because they fully understand, having 'been there, done that,' and can offer a positive outlook, or even just comfort, because sometimes there isn't hope — you just need that comfort and understanding.

Sabari: That's so important. And, as you mentioned, life doesn't stop with a cancer diagnosis. We are all here at ASCO 2025, partnering together to cure this disease. We want patients to live longer and live better. What advice do you have for my colleagues, oncologists? What can we do better in caring for our patients and striving for that hope, while also ensuring a good quality of life?

Herigodt: That's an awesome question because when I was going through these diagnoses with my family members, I have to say that a lot of the oncologists were not super friendly. Now that I've been in this work for a long time, I understand that you have to build up a tolerance — almost a callous, if you will — to help you get through your work so you can be mentally safe. But I would just call for action, reminding oncologists that these are all people, all humans. They have to go home and face their families, and they have to plan for what's next. When an oncologist forgets that this is more than just a diagnosis, it elevates the situation to a whole different level. Not having an oncologist who understands you, who isn't genuinely trying to help you and your family — medically, yes, but there's more to this. It's in your brain, it's in your heart, it's taking over your whole life. Not having an oncologist who pays attention to that makes the situation much harder for the patient, and also for their families. So, I would just ask oncologists to remember that these people are human. I know it's hard.

Sabari: That's phenomenal advice for oncologists. I tell my fellows and residents to put themselves in the patient's and family members' shoes. We're not there just to talk about medications and prognosis; we're truly there to share the journey and the process. It's so helpful to hear, and thank you for sharing your experiences. And thank you for joining us at ASCO 2025, partnering with Cure and many other organizations to truly help end this scourge of a disease.

Herigodt: Thank you, I appreciate it.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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