Why I Specialize in Breast Cancer

Many clients wonder, why breast cancer? Well, my interest in cancer began as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, when I did a senior project at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. My task there was to transcribe audio-recordings of interviews with childhood survivors of cancer and their parents with regard to post-traumatic stress experiences. As I listened, I was struck by the fact that even though each family had (on paper) faced the same disease, they differed tremendously in how they reacted to the experience. They reported different triggers, different levels of distress, and different ways of framing the experience. Listening to their narratives opened my eyes to the idea that how we think about events can make even extraordinarily difficult events more or less tolerable, and that there is an infinite variety in how we react to and conceptualize disease. Realizing that there are so many different ways to frame or think about cancer inspired me to realize that psychotherapy, which uses the power of the mind to shape our experiences, could help individuals feel less frightened and overwhelmed by a cancer diagnosis.

My interest in breast cancer specifically began with the work I did at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in the Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program within the Center for Behavioral Oncology. My work there included conducting hypnosis sessions with women before breast surgery, conducting cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis sessions with women undergoing breast cancer radiotherapy, conducting hypnosis to manage musculoskeletal pain in women taking aromatase inhibitors, and leading empathic listening sessions where I was able to learn from women about their breast cancer experiences in their own words. My current work also involves conducting psychotherapy with women at all stages of the breast cancer continuum. These have been the most rewarding professional experiences of my life. So much of traditional psychotherapy focuses on stressful or traumatic events that happened long in the past. But breast cancer-focused psychotherapy allows me to help you in the here-and-now, and to be present and by your side as we work together to shape your experiences of diagnosis, treatment, and beyond.