Mass General program helping cancer patients deal with physical, mental health in remission, "I feel more empowered"

A Massachusetts General Hospital program is providing support for cancer survivors to help deal with the physical and mental issues that come after their battle. 

The "SMART Program," which stands for "Stress Management and Resilience Training" for cancer survivors, focuses on the unexpected changes and health issues that come from dealing with a cancer diagnosis.  

As a working mom, Kate Joyal says she constantly thinks about what's coming next, but she could never have predicted her cancer diagnosis.  

"I was hospitalized for a bowel obstruction in June of 2024, blindsided by it; I didn't see it coming at all," said Joyal. "'I had a colonoscopy, and then I had some biopsies done, and that's when I found out I had stage four colon cancer." 

After this life-changing diagnosis, the pieces of Joyal's life began to scatter. As a mother of two, she says the fear for her family is what struck her the most. Her kids witnessed her undergoing chemotherapy at home.  

"Because I am so young, they gave me a very aggressive form of chemo to help shrink the tumors down," said Joyal.  

After eight rounds of chemotherapy, surgeons at Mass General removed her tumor. Joyal did not feel relief. Instead, she felt sad and anxious.  

"You don't see your doctors as often. It's scary," said Joyal. "For those who have gone through the experience, it's sort of the start of something else." 

After entering remission, Joyal had a new battle: one with mental health.  

"How do you talk to people when you're sad or anxious, and everybody else is thinking 'You should celebrate, you're done with treatment," said Giselle Perez, the Director of the MGH Mind Body Cancer Survivor Program. Perez oversees the SMART program at the hospital. 

So Joyal took part in the SMART program with other survivors her age. The program aims to build strength and resilience skills through group therapy. They are also testing to see if better mental health leads to improved physical health and have found multiple observations, but nothing causal or conclusive.  

She explained it helped her acknowledge both her feelings and her situation. The group also talked about the aspects of their life they appreciate now. 

"Some of the things that we all were saying are very simple. I was in tears after it," said Joyal.    

For instance, she never let her children sleep in her bed with her and her husband before, and now she does.  

"I feel more empowered to be there for them and be a part of everything they are going through, and I don't know if I felt that before," said Joyal. "It gave me a better feeling of being their mom." 

WBZ and CBS are partnering with the National Alliance of Mental Illness Massachusetts this month. If you or someone you know needs help addressing mental health, you can reach out to them at namimass.org. You can also call them at 617-580-8541.