How cancer psychologists can help

Jill Majeski, PsyD, (left) and Dorianne Eaves, PsyD, are psychologists at the Upstate Cancer Center.

Poor body image. Changes in sexual functioning. End-of-life concerns. People with cancer may struggle with these and other physical changes and existential concerns.

“A cancer diagnosis is disruptive,” explains Dorianne Eaves, PsyD, of the psychosocial oncology program at Upstate. “I tell patients, ‘You have valid reasons for the emotions you are feeling.’”

Eaves works with adult patients, spouses and families from cancer diagnosis through treatment and survivorship. At the first appointment, she interviews them to learn what is going on in their lives. How is their quality of life? What are their treatment goals?

“Cancer patients are often surprised at how much can be accomplished in therapy,” Eaves continues. “Society thinks therapy is ‘just talking,’ but we can work together on issues like challenging treatment decisions, disruptions in sleep and strains on interpersonal relationships.

“We focus on the individual’s wellbeing in relation to cancer,” she continues. “We can all benefit from support. Participating in therapy doesn’t mean you are not handling your situation well.”

Jill Majeski, PsyD, works with the Waters Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Upstate. She offers psychological assessments and therapy, including behavioral treatments to manage pain and symptoms, and other supports to help sick children and their families lead the best lives possible.

As part of that support, Majeski offers educational and social programs so that patients and families with similar medical conditions and shared experiences can get to know each other and learn more about living with and managing their health conditions.

“I work with families to identify their worries, challenges and hopes and to do our best to meet those hopes, big or small,” she says.

Majeski also provides psychological services at clinics throughout the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, with the CHOICES Pediatric Palliative Care Program, and at the Perinatal Center, where she works with families whose babies are expected to be born with serious medical conditions. Majeski also offers individual and group grief and bereavement services.

Appointments with the psychosocial oncology program are available to Upstate patients. Call 315-464-HOPE (4673). CC

PHOTO BY SUSAN KAHN

750 East Adams Street l Syracuse, NY 13210

The Upstate Cancer Center's 25th annual National Cancer Survivor's Day takes place June 5 at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park in Syracuse. We hope you can join us: upstate.edu/ncsd

Upstate nurse Kathleen Root for many years has been part of Improve Care Now, a national organization dedicated to improving care for kids with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. On the group’s website last year, she spotted an intriguing new product.

A girl in Connecticut named Ella who needed infusions envisioned a sweatshirt with zippers in the arms so that kids could stay comfortable and warm during treatment. With her mother’s help, Ella developed IV hoodies — long-sleeved, hooded sweatshirts with a zipper up the front and zippers stretching the length of each arm. The arm zippers have two pulls, allowing medical providers to access the patient’s arms to check blood pressure and to insert an IV and then zip it closed around the line.

“I wanted to make a sweatshirt for kids getting IV infusions that is comfortable, motivational and most of all does not look like a hospital gown or medical wear,” Ella says on the website, ivhoodies.com

Root knew the hoodies would be a hit with her patients. She works in the Karjoo Family Center for

Pediatric Gastroenterology at

Upstate, which treats about 200 inflammatory bowel disease patients, with 100 receiving regular infusions at the Upstate Cancer Center. Those infusions can last one to five hours, depending on the treatment, Root says.

She and nurse Lisa Susko obtained a $6,000 grant from the Upstate Foundation to purchase IV hoodies in a variety of sizes, so they can give them to patients as they come for infusions. The hoodies are gray, with an Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital logo.

“I’m passionate about these kids, many of whom are diagnosed at a young age,” Root says. “Some of them have to spend a full day at the infusion center once a month. I want our patients to know that people care about what they are going through, and this is a small token of our acknowledgment.

“I have a soft spot for these kids. Crohn’s is a big disease that they’re going to have for the rest of their life.”