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Peer-to-Peer Services Hope to Improve the Lives of Cancer Survivors

January 09, 2009

Dr. Dave Sells, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, and a member of Yale Cancer Center, has recently received a grant funded by the Connecticut Challenge to perform a research study focused on cancer survivorship. Dr. Sells and his colleagues seek to determine the ways in which one-to-one peer-based services improve the lives of people newly diagnosed with cancer, and the volunteers providing support, following post-active cancer treatment.

Dr. Sells has conducted successful research using peer-to-peer services in psychiatry, citing that it has dramatic effects on a persons’ outlook relating to their treatment and care. He believes that a similar model can be used for people diagnosed with cancer. His study will look at the physical aspects of cancer survivorship, and the psychological, social, and spiritual aspects present in daily life. 24 participants will be enrolled in the study; 12 recently diagnosed with cancer will receive support, and 12, more than three months out of treatment for cancer, will provide the support.

“It is my hope that peer-to-peer services will help people diagnosed with cancer move ahead towards an empowered survivorship by learning how others have managed to integrate their illness into their lives in a positive way. This is also a form of recovery for providers, being able to use their experience to help others go through what they went through and make it a little easier for them,” Dr. Sells said.

Ms. Maggie Gardner, a peer service provider for the study, is a two time breast cancer survivor. She is also an advocate for cancer survivorship, and is working towards running a private, non-profit group that caters to cancer survivors emotionally, physically, and financially. Ms. Gardner feels that information needs to be easily accessible to people from the moment they are diagnosed. “There needs to be help for the person behind the patient, not just the patient,” said Ms. Gardner. “There’s a void that needs to be filled in regards to cancer survivorship, which makes studies like this so important.”

This type of peer-to-peer model is relatively unused for most types of cancer survivorship, and it was important for Dr. Sells to investigate the components needed. He is now working to gain an understanding of the process of recovery from a cancer diagnosis. “It is still early on in the study, but just in the recruitment process we have found a strong need for this type of service, especially in underserved populations. Survivors being able to use their experience to help someone else can give a real sense of empowerment, where they are able to give a different perspective and form a connection with someone recently diagnosed with cancer,” Dr. Sells said. He has found that this type of program encourages people to eat better, spend more quality time with family, and to exercise. He has also begun to realize that in both roles people are giving and receiving something; support recipients give providers support that they need as well.

People in such programs are matched based on age, demographics, and a similar cancer diagnosis. Participants are typically encouraged to meet wherever they feel most comfortable; some choose a clinical setting, others meet at their homes. Every experience with cancer is different, but Dr. Sells commented that it gives people a different perspective and a different way of looking at the disease.

Dr. Sells said that he hopes to bring this research to a larger scale after all the data is collected. “Cancer survivorship is such an important area and concentrating on the psychological needs of cancer survivors is something that is often overlooked. For the future, I hope to study different cancer experiences and develop detailed survival strategies,” Dr. Sells said. As for Ms. Gardner, she hopes this study will shed light on a very important topic, and encourage people to continue on their journey of recovery by realizing there is someone they can talk to, who understands where they have been and where they are headed.