Stories of Help and Hope

Coping with a Diagnosis

Ekata D.
Coping with leukemia
Tags:chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Cari D.
Coping with lung cancer
Tags:lung cancer
Susan T.
Coping with breast cancer
Tags:breast cancer
Phyllis D.
Coping with lung cancer
Tags:lung cancer
Lea C.
Coping with ovarian cancer
Tags:ovarian cancer
Cynthia B.
Coping with lung cancer
Tags:lung cancer
Nila W.
Coping with lung cancer
Tags:lung cancer
Donna H.
Coping with breast cancer
Tags:breast cancer
Jonah E.
Coping with melanoma
Tags:melanoma young adults
Suzanne W.
Coping with lung cancer
Tags:lung cancer
Mary Rose D.
Coping with pancreatic cancer
Tags:pancreatic cancer
Juliet O.
Coping with breast cancer
Tags:breast cancer
Donna S.
Coping with breast cancer
Tags:breast cancer
Beth M.
Coping with breast cancer
Tags:breast cancer young adults
Barbara L.
Coping with breast cancer
Tags:breast cancer
Ann C.
Coping with multiple myeloma
Tags:multiple myeloma

Coping with Caregiving

Kathryn W.
Caring for her husband with melanoma
Tags:caregiving young adults
Elise F.
Caring for her husband with AML
Tags:caregiving

How has CancerCare helped you? Share Your Story

Meet Social Workers at CancerCare

Maria Chi, LCSW

I knew I would join a helping profession for as long as I can remember. After majoring in psychology as an undergrad, I worked for two years as a research assistant for a memory disorders center. But as I tested people on the cognitive nature of their memory loss, I realized that I was much more interested in the practical and emotional ways in which they were affected. I knew I wanted to help people work out those things on a daily basis, so I became a social worker.

Before coming to CancerCare, I worked in a community mental health center and then an addiction treatment center. As I worked closely with people suffering from a variety of mental and physical illnesses, I began to see cancer as the epitome of how people deal with the effects of illness on their lives. Cancer draws out and crystallizes their practical and emotional struggles. It is a life-changing experience.

After searching for a way to work more directly with people affected by cancer, I found CancerCare. I’ve been here for almost 3 ½ years now, and I know I made the right choice. I feel privileged to work for such a unique organization, one that provides free counseling and financial support to help remove some very real barriers to people getting life-saving treatment. I’ve also been lucky to work with knowledgeable colleagues who truly care about their clients. Most importantly, I feel fortunate to be helping people through their cancer experiences – figuring out what can be changed, learning how to accept what can’t, and maximizing the sense of choice and quality in their lives, whether it’s three months or 30 years after a cancer diagnosis. I see myself as a guide. Most rewarding to me is when clients realize that they don’t have to go through their experience with cancer alone.