Stony Brook Cancer Center’s peer-mentoring program for women being treated for ovarian, cervical, uterine, or other gynecologic cancers was featured in a special segment that aired nationwide during Ovarian Cancer Research Fund’s (OCRF) annual fundraiser. To watch the segment, which aired during the QVC® Presents Super Saturday Live broadcast on July 25, click here.
The peer-mentoring program, which is called Woman to Woman, is funded by OCRF and its sponsor QVC and provides grants along with resources and support at 22 hospitals nationwide. Women currently being treated for gynecologic cancers are individually paired with women who have completed treatment for these cancers. Mentors go through a robust training program to learn how to handle potentially difficult situations and emotional discussions. All participants are volunteers.
“I see first-hand the value of support for women who are newly diagnosed or facing treatment for a gynecologic cancer. It can be a very stressful time, and having someone to talk to who has been there offers an invaluable perspective,” said Michael L. Pearl, MD, Director, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Stony Brook Cancer Center. “We are grateful for OCRF’s work across the board – from supporting research, raising awareness about gynecologic cancers, and establishing the Woman to Woman peer mentoring program – and for selecting our program to highlight in this national broadcast.”
The segment featured three women treated at Stony Brook Cancer Center for gynecologic cancers and who have all undergone training to become peer-mentors through OCRF’s Woman to Woman program at Stony Brook: Reneé Lynn Scott, Catherine Boccanfuso and Jennifer Lazarau.
Ms. Scott, who serves as Peer-Mentor Coordinator for Stony Brook’s Woman to Woman program, sees the program as providing important support for women undergoing gynecologic cancer treatment, “We’ve been there ourselves, so we know how hard it is to go through treatment – and sometimes even family and friends don’t understand,” she said. “We want the women to know that it’s okay to be weak if they need to be, and that we are here to listen to them.”
For Ms. Lazarau, the program’s focus on pairing together women of similar backgrounds and experiences is particularly poignant. “When I was diagnosed at age 28 and going through treatment, the most uncomfortable part for me was that other patients were significantly older,” she said. “I want to be there for other women going through cancer treatment, particularly at a young age as I did.”
Ms. Boccanfuso emphasized the value of a new cancer patient being able to connect with a cancer survivor. “When I was diagnosed at age 50, I had a wonderful support system – my husband, family and friends – but by my third round of chemotherapy, I wanted to talk to someone who had gone through it too,” she said. “And the peer-mentor training program has been great – it feels like being in a room with cancer sisters.”
For more information about the Woman to Woman program at Stony Brook Cancer Center or to make an appointment with a gynecologic oncologist on the Gynecologic Oncology Management team, call (631) 638-1000.