Help for the Newly Diagnosed

People diagnosed with cancer and their families cope in varying ways with the disease and its treatment. Many find that psychological support during this time is helpful.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering offers counseling to meet the individual needs of each person, and our professional counselors are available to speak with every patient. Our psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers can often help newly diagnosed patients gain perspective on their situations. Our social workers can also assist with practical issues such as transportation, financial concerns, and the effects of cancer treatment on employment.

For religious or spiritual counseling, we provide the services of chaplains from the Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim religions. Visits from clergy of other religions can also be arranged.

For Memorial Sloan-Kettering Patients

To find a counselor, talk to your doctor or nurse. Memorial Sloan-Kettering patients may also call the Department of Social Work at 212-639-7020, or call the Department of Psychiatry at 646-888-0100 for a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Breast cancer patients at the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center may speak with a psychiatrist by calling 646-888-0181; or a social worker, by calling 212-639-5271.

For spiritual counseling, patients may call the Department of Chaplaincy Services at 212-639-5982.

Through our volunteer program, former patients who have completed treatment can meet with recently diagnosed cancer patients to share their experiences and offer support. You can usually arrange to talk with someone whose diagnosis closely matches your own and who has received the treatment you and your doctor are considering.

For Memorial Sloan-Kettering Patients

To contact a patient-to-patient volunteer, please speak with your social worker or call Volunteer Resources at 212-639-5007.

If you receive your diagnosis while in the hospital, you may find it helpful to talk with other patients. Support groups, led by a healthcare professional, give inpatients the opportunity to receive information about psychosocial concerns and to meet and talk with others whose diagnoses and treatments are similar to theirs.

On each floor of the hospital, social workers and nurses convene regular support groups that, in most cases, will be made up of patients who are being treated for similar forms of cancer.

For Memorial Sloan-Kettering Patients

To join a support group, ask your nurse or the social worker who works with your physician, or call the Department of Social Work at 212-639-7020.

Some treatments for cancer may affect fertility, your ability to have a child naturally. If you are interested in having children after your cancer treatment, let you doctors know. There may be steps you can take before treatment begins to preserve your fertility in the future. See our Fertility and Parenthood section for more information on this subject.

For Memorial Sloan-Kettering Patients

If you are a Memorial Sloan-Kettering patient and would like to speak with someone to learn more about your options for becoming a parent after cancer treatment, speak to you doctor or nurse and ask for a referral to the Clinical Nurse Specialist of the Fertility Preservation and Parenthood after Cancer Treatment program.