This is the second part of an interview I did with Leah de Roulet, Oncology Social Worker, in which she discusses some of the leading practical as well as emotional challenges facing patients and caregivers as a person progresses with cancer.   Whether we’re talking about helping a patient recognize that they can no longer live independently or coming to terms with an anticipated death, I learned that these problems are difficult for everyone and that there are few situations for which there are clear answers.

Although there is a video version that will stream to people who have subscribed to the feed for the social work vertical, this interview doesn’t have any associated figures other than a title slide, so I’m only providing the podcast link here to the audio version (subscribe to the audio version feed here). Click to listen now.

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Several of the people who have been following GRACE have read and provided comments on discussions initiated by Leah de Roulet, an oncology social worker who has recently stepped down as the head of the  very strong oncology social work group at Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, WA after many years, but still works several days per week in her semi-retirement.  She has been providing counseling and practical assistance to our patients for more than a decade, and she was kind enough to sit down with me to discuss some important aspects of oncology social work with me.

This interview will be presented in two parts, with the first half included here and covering topics ranging from an introduction to what oncology social workers do, to practical issues of getting cancer care for under-insured or uninsured patients, to coping with a cancer diagnosis.  Here is the audio podcast: Click to Listen

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