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LSA Offers Peer
Counseling
The Leukemia Society of America (LSA) has launched First
Connections, a program designed to help patients newly diagnosed with leukemia,
Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or myeloma get counseling
support and information following their diagnosis. Specially trained volunteers
who have undergone a similar experience pay a personal visit or phone call to
the newly diagnosed patients. More than 350 volunteers participate in the
program nationwide.
“First Connections has been just wonderful both for me and
the patients,” says 39-year-old First Connections volunteer Karen
McClellon, who underwent an autologous BMT for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in
1995. “At first I wondered whether sharing my own experience with others
would be difficult, but I found it actually helped me come to terms with my own
cancer journey.”
McClellon has counseled eight newly diagnosed patients since
joining the program in 1997. “I try to visit patients in person whenever
possible,” she said. “It helps them to see someone face to face
who’s been through a similar experience and understands how they’re
feeling.”
Debbie Ball, who coordinates the First Connections program at the
TriCounty Chapter of LSA in southern California, says most patient referrals
come from oncology nurses and social workers at area hospitals. “Some
patients just want information while others need emotional support,” says
Ball. “We match patients with volunteers who understand their specific
needs. An 80-year-old woman with mycloma, for example, has very different
concerns than a 20-year-old newly diagnosed leukemia patient who’s seven
months’ pregnant.”
First Connections is operating in 18 LSA chapters throughout the
U.S. “It will be operational in all LSA chapters by the summer,” says
Donna Moss, director of patient services at the national LSA office. Volunteers
participate in a six-hour training session before talking with newly diagnosed
patients. Volunteers are taught how to be good listeners and peer counselors,
and are educated about other community and national resources that may help
patients.
To speak to a First Connections volunteer, or to learn more about
becoming a counselor, contact your local chapter of the LSA. If the chapter
does not yet have a First Connections program, phone Donna Moss, 800-955-4
LSA. |
