Each of the 12 multidisciplinary teams at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) includes oncology, radiology, and surgery specialists, nurses, social workers, genetic counselors, dieticians, health educators, and researchers working side-by-side to assist with the most effective treatment plan for each individual. Patients and their loved ones are part of this decision-making partnership. Education and open communication with care providers equip patients to make informed decisions. HCI teams go beyond treating cancer; they care for the whole person. With diseases such as cancer, psychological and social recovery often extends beyond physical treatment. Support groups provide many patients and their loved ones a compassionate and honest environment in which to talk through the experience and challenge of cancer. HCI’s Living Well with Cancer support group is a strong example. “It’s about assisting people with cancer to walk with the disease rather than fight against it, to learn how to live with its unpredictability, and to learn what they do and don’t have control over so they feel a sense of power. They learn to live with a new sense of normal,” says Michele Dabrowski, LCSW, who facilitates the weekly group. Here patients of all ages with all types of cancer learn from others on similar psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual journeys. “In this sense, you can’t get better experts,” says Dabrowski.

“Our patients may not have control of their physical outcome,” Dabrowski continues, “but in the Living Well with Cancer support group, we learn that in life, the journey is the reward.”