Breast cancer survivor Pam Fisher described feeling emotionally overwhelmed after returning to work following her treatment, despite the positive prognosis of her illness. Fisher recalled that her oncologist, Dr. Ramy Sedhom, medical director of Oncology and Palliative Care at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, asked her a question that resonated deeply: “How are you doing?” According to Fisher, “It was so powerful for him to ask that question. He was the only person who knew what I had been through.”
Dr. Sedhom referred Fisher to the new Psychosocial Oncology Clinic at Princeton Health, which offers support from psychotherapists at no charge in convenient settings for patients. Initially hesitant due to cultural beliefs about mental health care, Fisher eventually met with psychologist Kara Buda, PhD. She said of their meeting: “She was so compassionate and caring and engaged and thoughtful, and I felt like in the first few minutes, she understood exactly where I was in my journey.”
The Psychosocial Oncology Clinic emerged from discussions between the Princeton Medical Center Foundation and a longstanding donor interested in integrating mental health into cancer care. The donor’s family experience with cancer led to a $2.6 million pledge supporting the initiative.
Hyona Revere, vice president for Development at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, described the process as “a beautiful melding of the resources and initial thought and passion of a donor, and two clinicians who had the talent and vision to put together something meaningful.” Abramson Cancer Center Director Robert H. Vonderheide noted that expanding focus beyond physical treatment is “a natural extension of our incredible progress,” adding that broadening responsibility is part of Penn Medicine’s systemwide priority.
A 2025 report by a Lancet Oncology commission characterized current conditions as a “human crisis of cancer care,” observing that advances in precision medicine have sometimes come at the expense of addressing patients’ everyday needs.
Dr. Sedhom has advocated publicly for integrated support services in oncology settings. In a commentary for Oncology News Central in 2025 he wrote: “The reality is that the best care comes from an ensemble: therapists who create safe spaces, social workers who navigate resources, nurses who notice subtle changes in mood, physicians who listen differently, and administrators who carve out time and space for these services.”
The clinic includes five psychologists and licensed clinical social workers offering both clinical services and research on delivery methods such as telehealth versus in-person sessions or synchronizing therapy visits with oncology appointments. Oncologists share space with therapists so patients can receive immediate support if needed—a process facilitated by what staff call a “warm handoff.”
Surveys are administered to all patients to identify distress or emotional concerns not typically discussed during short oncology appointments focused on medical issues.
Therapists address common challenges among cancer patients such as anxiety about prognosis or side effects like pain or insomnia; they also provide support tailored by age group or life situation—for example fears about family impacts or loss of function due to surgery.
“Cancer didn’t just attack the body. It really unsteadied me,” said Fisher about her experience after treatment.
Caregivers also receive therapy through this program—comprising 13 percent of participants during its first year—recognizing their critical but often unsupported role within patient care teams.
Treatment methods include cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, motivational interviewing, and meaning-centered psychotherapy developed specifically for advanced cancer cases; all therapists have completed training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Early results showed strong outcomes: 80 percent of patients with significant depression symptoms reported normal or no symptoms after six to eight sessions; among those with significant anxiety symptoms improvement reached 100 percent upon discharge from psychosocial oncology services. These findings will be presented at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society meeting in 2026.
Looking ahead, leaders plan further expansion across Penn Medicine sites beginning in 2026 using Princeton Health as a central resource hub while local sites provide clinicians for direct patient contact via telehealth or onsite visits.
Vonderheide commented on future plans: “We’re using it as a model to learn how to do this across Penn Medicine because it’s important everywhere… What good is it if we treat a patient and cure them of breast cancer only to have them emerge with a cancer-induced depression?”
Sedhom added: “We envision that in a perfect world…in the next five years this will exist everywhere across Penn.”
