Cancer Counseling

Fran’s Place – Center for Cancer Counseling focuses on the issues that are most frequently overlooked with cancer patients: the emotional, psychological and physical and lifestyle challenges that accompany a diagnosis of cancer. Life focus suddenly shifts to the medical aspects of cancer: doctor appointments, biopsies, understanding the diagnosis, surgeries and treatments.

Cancer patients and their family members face a life-altering experience. Fear, anxiety, worry, guilt, and shock are just some of the overwhelming feelings experienced by patients and their families.

Understanding how our bodies are changing, how the treatments affect all parts of our lives, including our relationships, functioning levels at home, work and elsewhere, frees us to organize our lives around what is possible for us to do successfully. The Center also helps family members understand what we are going through and what are realistic expectations of us during this time period, and assists them in expressing their feelings, concerns and worries. 

For patients and family members, who are stressed financially (underserved, underinsured and unemployed), the need for this emotional support is even more urgent, as returning to life as they knew it before cancer becomes increasingly strained.

It is for this very reason that the Center’s services are offered at no-charge, to help to manage the mental barriers that arise after receiving a cancer diagnosis, decrease the distress of treatments and their side effects, while maintaining the best quality of life for all involved: patient, family, caregivers.

HOW THE CENTER CAN HELP

Offering individual, couples, family, play, and grief therapies, our services are individualized according to the needs of each patient. Generally in the first meeting the patient and family decide, with their counselor, what services are appropriate and set a plan for future meetings. Services are offered in-person or remotely by telehealth, in English and Spanish. Home and hospital visits are available as needed.