No one should have to experience a cancer diagnosis alone. That’s why, through a grant from Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF), we started the Woman to Woman program for those who have gynecologic cancers. Patients are paired with volunteers who are themselves survivors of gynecologic cancer.
A newly diagnosed patient can choose to participate in this patient-to-patient support and mentoring program. Its purpose is to offer a patient someone to talk to and help her better cope with the many challenges of gynecologic cancer.
The volunteers have all been professionally trained to offer one-on-one emotional support as well as valuable information. These volunteers, who are all at least one-year post treatment, can understand better than anyone what a patient is going through, so they’re able to impart knowledge, tell patients about resources available to them, and generally help empower women to advocate for themselves.
The Woman to Woman program is available, free of charge, to patients through all phases of treatment. Starting immediately after the initial cancer diagnosis - which includes cervical, uterine (endometrial), ovarian, vulvar, peritoneal, vaginal and fallopian tube cancers - and continuing through to recovery, the volunteers are available to provide assistance and support by phone, email or in one-on-one meetings. Participants also receive comprehensive information about gynecologic treatment and survivorship.
The Inspiration for the Program
The Woman to Woman program was started in 2003 at Mount Sinai Hospital, and is being expanded nationwide by Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). In 2014, Stony Brook Cancer Center was one of only six institutions in the country to receive a grant from OCRF allowing Stony Brook to establish a Woman to Woman program.
Open to All Gynecologic Cancer Patients
Stony Brook’s Woman to Woman program is the only one on Long Island. Any woman with a gynecologic cancer, regardless of where or by whom she is being treated, is welcome to take advantage of this program. For more information, please send an email to: COE@stonybrookmedicine.edu