Survivors and caregivers: Life after cancer
June 18, 2019
Knight School is a series of public science talks designed to educate, entertain, and inspire audiences with stories told by Knight Cancer researchers, clinicians and patients.
Medical science has greatly improved the odds of surviving cancer, so much so that health systems are grappling with a new challenge: helping survivors adjust to living a long life after completing therapy. Come hear how survivors and care providers are building systems of support, developing ways to stay well in body, mind and spirit – and forging opportunity amidst the crisis of cancer.
Presenters:
Amy Dee, Ed.D., professor at George Fox University and cancer survivor
Amy Dee was diagnosed with lymphoma in July 2015. Six weeks of chemotherapy put the disease in remission, but it was short lived. Within six months of her last treatment the cancer returned and she underwent a stem cell transplant. “Overcoming cancer requires that we live as new or different people,” she says. “Once guilty of taking things for granted, a new and purposeful focus on gratitude provides me with a sense of hopefulness.”
Susan Hedlund, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., O.S.W.-C., director of patient and family support services at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
Susan Hedlund has been an oncology social worker for thirty years and specializes in the development and provision of psychosocial support services for people with cancer and their loved ones. At OHSU, she supervises adult oncology social workers and coordinate wellness offerings of yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction, exercise, massage, and retreats for people with cancer. She is a senior scholar in the Center for Ethics in Health Care at OHSU, and she has spoken and written extensively about the impact of cancer on individuals and families, and on palliative and end of life care.
Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D., co-leader of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program and Elnora E. Thompson Distinguished Professor in the OHSU School of Nursing
Kerri Winters-Stone is an exercise physiologist whose research focus is developing targeted exercise strategies that will help people with cancer manage symptoms, overcome side effects, maximize quality of life and potentially improve survival. She has led numerous clinical trials examining the benefits of exercise training for physical function in cancer survivors. She recently received a $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study the benefits of a partnered exercise program for couples coping with cancer.