Provider Talk with Colleen Dwyer Diehl

In this episode, Dr. Josie welcomes Colleen Dwyer Diehl, LCSW, a clinical social worker at Cancer Bridges, to introduce an exciting new mini-series on cancer survivorship. 

Colleen shares her journey, the mission of Cancer Bridges, and the impactful programs they offer to support cancer patients and survivors. Together, they explore the Living Life Post-Cancer Treatment program, a structured initiative designed to help individuals navigate life after active treatment. 

They also introduce the five essential elements of survivorship care, which will be explored in depth in upcoming episodes. Whether you’re a survivor, caregiver, or healthcare professional, this episode offers valuable insights and resources for thriving beyond cancer.

Relevant links for this episode:

• Cancer Bridges at https://cancerbridges.org/
• Cancer Bridges Membership Forms at https://cancerbridges.org/become-a-member/
• Living Life Post Cancer Treatment at https://cancerbridges.org/specialized-programs/
• Once you become a free member and gain access to the calendar, you can view and register for the monthly Monday evening Post-Treatment group. 

General Links:

• Disclaimers: https://cancersurvivormd.org/disclaimers/
• Brad Buchanan: https://linktr.ee/bradthechimera
• G [Josie] van Londen: https://linktr.ee/cancersurvivormd
• CancerBridges: https://cancerbridges.org/

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 2:23 About Colleen Dwyer Diehl and Cancer Bridges
• 12:16 Introduction to the Living Life Post Cancer Treatment Program
• 24:37 Future Podcast Description of the Essential Elements of Survivorship Care

Transcript

[00:00:00]

[00:00:00] G van Londen: Good morning, everybody. I'm so happy to have you all listen to us. I have a very special guest today. Her name is Colleen Dwyer Diehl. I think many of you who are listening to this podcast recognize her. She has a very important role at Cancer Bridges, a local nonprofit in the city of Pittsburgh, for cancer patients and cancer survivors.

[00:00:24] G van Londen: Colleen and I, will start a mini series, where today we will introduce you to this mini series. we will introduce you to Colleen, for those of you who are listening and don't know her. yet. Colleen will do a little bit of an intro about herself, about Cancer Bridges and the special programs that she leads at Cancer Bridges.

[00:00:48] G van Londen: And then together we will do a brief description of the mini series that will follow about the five essential elements of cancer survivorship [00:01:00] care. Today's episode will be about half an hour in length. we hope you will stick with us for the next few episodes as well. And now without further ado, I will introduce Colleen.

[00:01:15] G van Londen: Colleen, it's so good to have you here today. Would you like to tell the audience a little bit about yourself? your background and how you got to work at Cancer Bridges? 

[00:01:29] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Good morning. Nice to be with you, Dr. Josie. Thank you for having me here I can absolutely give you a little background about who I am.

[00:01:38] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: I am a licensed clinical social worker and have been with the organization actually since 2006. I started, as program director at Gilda's Club, and that's when we opened in Pittsburgh, we were the 21st Gilda's Club to open, and I did that [00:02:00] until 2000.

[00:02:01] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: I want to say it's 13 or 14 when we. Became our clubhouse might've been a little bit before then. And I did move to a different title at that point. I think I was outreach. And program development kind of worked through that through our clubhouse, I stepped back a little bit, wasn't working full time, did some part time work as I am now, and then became one of the senior clinical managers at Cancer Bridges.

[00:02:28] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Which, of course, that merge happened in 2021. a little bit about me, I went to Boston College for my Master's in Social Work to become, a licensed clinical social worker and just absolutely love the work that we do at Cancer Bridges. When you walk in the door at Cancer Bridges, there's a sign that says, Love built this house.

[00:02:54] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And I feel like it's so fitting, because it truly [00:03:00] did happen that way. the people who founded Gilda's Club, of course, it all started back in 1999. it took some time to create the space, but it is, as we believe, so warm and welcoming. so many people contributed to the making of the organization and have continued through the years to make it what it is today, and, I'm just so proud of it.

[00:03:24] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: So proud of the mission. 

[00:03:27] G van Londen: Thank you, Colleen. Would you be willing to tell a little bit more about cancer bridges. it has a physical, location, the strip district. a big online presence and maybe a little bit more about the mission of cancer bridges and all it offers. 

[00:03:43] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Yes, of course. Uh, we, nowadays we look at it as almost having three locations because we have the actual physical space.

[00:03:52] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: In the strip district, as you mentioned, which is a beautiful space, if you ever get the opportunity to come down and see it, it [00:04:00] is warm and welcoming. We have a big community room that we can move the furniture around to create a place where people can come and learn about education. We have many guest speakers.

[00:04:12] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Sometimes we have panels that will be there as well to talk about a specific subject. we are true to our days of Gilda's Club where we would do, fun and social events. We really try to build a sense of community at Cancer Bridges and we do that with some of those social activities. we have one that's coming up, actually, our Valentine's Day celebration where we really turn the facility into a fine dining restaurant for one evening.

[00:04:40] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: It's all hands on deck, of course, but It's so fun, a member can bring a guest and enjoy a beautiful dinner, and if they have children, the children can be upstairs enjoying a pizza party and some games we also have many different social events throughout the year.

[00:04:56] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: We're really a big on celebrating anything that we can celebrate. [00:05:00] And of course, that. That contributes to that sense of community and belonging. Um, and then we have a kitchen that we do a lot of cooking demonstrations in where, uh, that's something that a lot of our members enjoy learning about because they can really wrap their arms around it.

[00:05:18] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: The experience of, what you're putting in your body and how, that gives you that sense of control. we like cooking demonstrations with dietitians or even just fun cooking decorations again, going back to the social experience and the kids love the kitchen.

[00:05:36] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Love to be able to get their hands dirty and make different, meals and, uh, makes me think about the, the outdoor space too. Here we are in the Strip District of Pittsburgh and we're able to have some outdoor space where people can enjoy eating out there or playing games or sometimes we have fundraising events out there.

[00:05:55] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: It really depends. We also have a wellness studio where we offer [00:06:00] yoga to strength training classes. We do some of them in person or virtual. We have several different support groups rooms. I'm actually in one or individual rooms where we do our one on one counseling. And of course, we have our maker space.

[00:06:17] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Which is, also slash art room where we can create, anything from drawing to jewelry making to sewing, uh, just giving people the opportunity to join together and share, whether they're talking about cancer or not, again, it's, it's creating that sense of community. and then there's also other spaces, but for the most part, that is, our building, which is just gorgeous.

[00:06:44] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: As I've mentioned, we have a virtual space. This is kind of our second space that we look at a lot of our programming. In fact, I believe about 60 percent of our programming is. Virtual. So we know from COVID [00:07:00] that reaching out to people virtually really can make an impact.

[00:07:04] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: It's just a way to be able to connect with others. that's really what our focus is, is the state of Pennsylvania. Now we're here in Pittsburgh. We connect with a lot of people in the Pittsburgh area, but our reach is the state of Pennsylvania. And our, our goal is really to reach some of those rural areas in the state that really don't have the access or the, the ability to connect with others, which we know when you're going through cancer.

[00:07:32] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: It's very important. So virtual space, and I'm sure we'll talk a little bit more about that. we also have programming that we do in the community. So we'll make connections with different hospitals. And, uh, be able to provide programming right there in the hospital. Uh, which can be comforting because they're used to going to that hospital.

[00:07:52] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Or it might be in their own community. So they don't have to come down to the Strip District. Or maybe they're not real comfortable connecting [00:08:00] virtual, so it gives them, another option to connect. moving ahead, which I can, I think you asked me to talk a little bit about our mission, which, is to support anybody impacted by a cancer diagnosis.

[00:08:13] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And when we say anybody, we're referring to the person with the diagnosis, whether they're in treatment or post treatment. To friends family and caregivers, um, that, you know, it's really anybody who's supporting that person with cancer. And then we also support those who have lost somebody to cancer.

[00:08:35] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: We have a whole grief program. And then, of course, with what I think is a very unique and special part of our program is our families. And kids who have been impacted by a cancer diagnosis, we have a whole family and youth program that supports those, impacted. So, uh, yeah, it's very important. We do ask people to become members and that's how we create that sense [00:09:00] of community.

[00:09:01] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: It is all free. I know sometimes people hear that word member and they're not really sure what does that mean? Am I going to have to pay? There is no fee to join, but we do want to build that sense of community. So we ask you to complete a membership form. You can do that online by going to our website, which is cancerbridges. org. And based on your situation. We ask you to scroll down to that page that says become a member, and there's three boxes, and you would click on the box that applies to you most, and there's a form that you fill out, and that form then gets sent over to us, and we approve it, and we also ask you to create an online account, so you can register for all the different activities that take place at Cancer Bridges.

[00:09:47] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: We then call you after that to check in to see, you know, a lot of times people don't really know what they want. They've been told, Hey, come check out Cancer Bridges. Great. You know, I'm looking for some support. [00:10:00] Sometimes it takes a couple of times to hear about us before people actually come, but once they do, we're always happy to have them.

[00:10:06] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: We call and kind of get an idea of what it is that based on their form and what they filled out, what direction they'd like to go in and what would they like to do? And then we get them connected. with support groups or the 1 on 1, which I can get to in a minute. Um, but the other piece I just want to mention is that if you don't have access to the Internet, or you're not quite sure how to do this and you have questions, please don't hesitate to give us a call and we can walk you through the process.

[00:10:34] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: You don't have to do it alone. We can help you to fill out that form and, we can even send one to you if you'd like to and have a copy of it, you know, whatever is going to make you most comfortable with, completing that membership process. So that's sort of about the mission and about Cancer Bridges.

[00:10:54] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Dr. Josie, would you like me to continue on with the programs that we offer? 

[00:10:59] G van Londen: I wanted [00:11:00] to add a side note that, the links, we referred to in this podcast will be in the description. So , you can find easily how to connect to these, applications that Colleen, was talking about.

[00:11:14] G van Londen: no, I think you were very thorough. Colleen, thank you for describing, about yourself, about cancer bridges. 

[00:11:20] G van Londen: And one of the programs that you are very closely involved with is the program called Living Life Post Cancer Treatment, and we will, devote our next few episodes with Colleen to the essential elements of cancer survivorship. But that is just a fragment of what this particular program, tries to, Teach and empower, and inspire, cancer patients about, so would you be willing to do a general overview of what the Living Life Post-Cancer Treatment Program entails?

[00:11:59] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Yeah, [00:12:00] absolutely. Yes, the Living Life Post Cancer Treatment Program, it was, it's actually been a team effort to pull it together and we've been offering it for almost 10 years now and it's, it's made an impact for those who are transitioning to life post cancer, which, you know, you don't always know you need the program until you're in it and then you realize, whoa, what's happening here?

[00:12:25] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: and that was really the goal or the reason why we developed it. back in, 2009, 2010, we had a support group of people that were in treatment. And when they finished treatment, they were still in the support group, but saying, you know, our needs are a little bit different now it's, it's we're, we're post and we've got some side effects that we're dealing with and we have this fear of recurrence that's just not going away.

[00:12:52] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: we're not actively in chemo or radiation or whatever your treatment was. And you feel like maybe you're not quite [00:13:00] doing something about it as people have described it. So they were really looking to be able to maybe connect with others or learn or really be able to process what happened during treatment.

[00:13:11] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And now life has changed a bit and trying to look like what's next. And as some people have described it as what's the new normal. We thought it was really important to create this program because there was a large group of people that were really looking for support, and not even really knowing that they needed it.

[00:13:30] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: So, we created this nine week program. We meet for eight consecutive weeks, and the focus of the program is really exercise, movement. As well as nutrition, medical management, and then the emotional piece of having had cancer and now moving to life after cancer. So each session has a theme or something that we focus on.

[00:13:56] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Every session has exercise. So we do have an exercise [00:14:00]trainer as well as a facilitator. The exercise trainer talks about exercise and movement, but we also participate in an interactive 20 to 30 minute exercise session, and it's meant to to teach you things that you can be doing to to move forward.

[00:14:18] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: We've got a lot of people that talk about frustration, wanting to be done, but not yet feeling like they're done and wanting to get back there. So one of the taglines or the things that our exercise trainer says is something is better than nothing. So just starting to move, whether it's for two minutes and you gradually increase that to 10.

[00:14:38] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: so we're all about learning some tips and tricks to that exercise and movement piece. Uh, and that's, that's really what this program is about, creating a toolkit to help you move through this process. there is exercise at each class. We also have two guest speakers that come to this session or to the program.

[00:14:57] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: One of those guest speakers is a [00:15:00] dietitian to speak about nutrition. this is another great support that you can wrap your arms around and really have some control over what you're putting in your body. As I've mentioned before, um, you can learn about some basics that you've already known about nutrition.

[00:15:17] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And this is somewhat of a reminder of, how best to be eating, but from the cancer experience, you can also ask some of those questions what types of foods should you be eating, what should you avoid? And a dietician can really speak to some of those specifics and you can get some answers, to some of your questions as well as maybe some resources and places to learn more about diet and, good foods to be eating.

[00:15:43] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And then, of course, medical management is our second guest speaker. We have an oncologist or oncology nurse that joins us to speak about medical management and those five essentials of care that are really important that we know that we want to [00:16:00] focus on. and, you know, just who to ask when there's questions that come up and that fear of recurrence, what can you do to manage that fear?

[00:16:10] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: and side effects.

[00:16:12] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And then of course, as I mentioned, is the emotional pieces, you know, really working through maybe what happened during treatment and what's happening now, that emotional roller coaster that you might feel like you're on the ups and downs, the good days, the bad days, which we all have them. And those gray days that you just can't explain and you can't really explain to everyone.

[00:16:37] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: we also touch on relationships and maybe how they've changed. and what can you do about that? And being able to sort of move forward, have some communication strategies to help with that. And then in session eight, we talk about creating good habits. And moving forward and how to do that.[00:17:00]

[00:17:00] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: And like I said earlier, this is really about having a toolkit that you can tap into, whether it's a month from now, six months from now, a year from now, you can pull out some of these tips and tools that we've given you and you can continue to use them. So, um. Yeah, it's, it's been an amazing experience, and I think one of the best pieces that I've heard from people, one of the biggest takeaways, is the camaraderie, or the connection, and then knowing that you're not alone, that this is a real thing.

[00:17:36] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: The transition to life after cancer, it's a process, and hopefully as you move further away from it, you don't think about it as much. But in those first years or months, it is a transition, and having support and people around to understand can really help you through that process. 

[00:17:58] G van Londen: Yes, I like [00:18:00] that aspect of it.

[00:18:00] G van Londen: These are small, intimate group sizes, five to ten people in each group, which is, a Very nice size to support each other, and listen to each other it's interesting to see over time how they sometimes even grow into friends that stay in touch after. the program has ended, which I think, is very important to not feel alone.

[00:18:28] G van Londen: it's very easy to feel like you're the only one going through this and you're going maybe a little bit crazy because of all these feelings and thoughts that you have in your head and in your body. And it's, it's, normalizing and, sometimes even a relief to hear that you're not the only one

[00:18:48] G van Londen: who deals with this and to learn from each other and from the program how to better cope. I think what's also very helpful is that you provide [00:19:00] everybody with a manual and all the slides are included in there so that the participant can add their own side notes. But for the most part, they can just listen and use that as a reference after the program has been

[00:19:14] G van Londen: completed. the other thing I wanted to say is that the program is done in person, but some of them are done, through Zoom, correct? can you state a little bit about that, Colleen? 

[00:19:25] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Yeah, again, learning in 2020 that it was important to move things online. We did move LLPCT online and we have a dashboard, where the actual manual sits so that people can access that through their own personalized dashboard where everything is on there. The exercises There's a journaling exercise for each month or each week. Um, and the other thing I didn't mention is that we do give each participant a pedometer, to help them see how much they're moving, even [00:20:00] just becoming aware of, how many steps do I have a day?

[00:20:03] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: are they in the range that they want to be in? Would they like to be doing a little bit more? it's something that we can gauge. there are some materials that each individual gets with participating in the program. depending on where the program is, we can do it virtual or in person.

[00:20:21] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: One last thing to add is that, everybody is welcome. it doesn't matter where you're at in terms of your financial situation, in terms of your gender, and cancer type, any type cancer,

[00:20:39] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: the real, requirement that we look at is your post treatment, because it is that transition of moving away from the cancer experience.

[00:20:49] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: So that's the goal of the program, but otherwise it's open to anybody in any type of cancer. 

[00:20:57] G van Londen: I think some of the questions you get [00:21:00] sometimes, Colleen, is, I'm on long term treatment, for my early stage cancer. does it mean I have to wait years before I can join? And, and usually, I think, 

[00:21:12] G van Londen: usually it's okay if individuals are on long term treatment for early stage cancer, as long as they've finished their, active, Therapies like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. the reason for that is that you're so overwhelmed with going through those treatments that there's often not a lot of bandwidth for you to, focus on healing and participate in these activities.

[00:21:38] G van Londen: can you comment a little bit on that, Colleen? 

[00:21:43] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Yeah, I think you said it right there. the transition piece that we're really trying to focus on is helping people to move forward. but there are some times where people are on some maintenance or, follow up care, but they [00:22:00] basically finished their active treatment piece and

[00:22:03] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: I usually call every individual before they start the program to answer any questions because it is a commitment. we meet for 8 consecutive weeks and then we take a break. It varies, usually 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes even 4 weeks before we come back for the final class.

[00:22:22] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: This program can be over three months and, at first people are like, whoa, that seems like a long time, but then I think when they get in it, the majority of people are like, wow, I don't want this to end because it's just so helpful to keep you on track. And of course, to have that connection and.

[00:22:39] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: I think the bottom line is it's helping you to feel better. 

[00:22:42] G van Londen: Thank you, Colleen. I think the program does a very good job in helping participants find their path forward. And that's all individual. We're not all marathon runners. We're all having a different philosophy and how we stand [00:23:00] in life. Some of us are like Eeyore and some of us are more like Tigger to use a Winnie the Pooh analogy this program helps you find your way of moving forward in life.

[00:23:14] G van Londen: given your personal history, on that note, I also wonder if maybe in one of the episodes, we should invite the nutritionist and the cancer certified personal trainer. I think it might be an interesting conversation, to add them. Colleen and I will focus in the next few episodes on the five essential elements of cancer survivorship care, and you would think we're living in the

[00:23:42] G van Londen: 21st century that these essential elements of cancer survivorship care are well known and well integrated and, um, just a routine part of cancer survivorship care. But that is not the case across the [00:24:00] entire United States. Um, and therefore only a few years ago, large medical organizations came to a consensus on the essential elements of care with the goal to mandate them across the board so that everybody should have access to these elements of care, This may sound intuitive to many of you, in particular, those listening to the podcast, as you probably are somebody who's, On top of your care, but it's, it's important that, we hopefully also reach those who don't have this access so we can empower them and inspire them to get the help they need.

[00:24:44] G van Londen: Um, so the five essential elements of care, are as follows. the first one is cancer surveillance of the cancer you were diagnosed with. The biggest fear all cancer survivors usually [00:25:00] endorse is, the fear of cancer recurrence.

[00:25:03] G van Londen: And so, um, monitoring for recurrence is a big first priority and an essential element of care for cancer survivors. we will talk in the next episode in more detail about this. The second. essential element of follow up care is screening for new cancers. cancer survivors often ask, Okay, I've had one cancer.

[00:25:30] G van Londen: Does it mean I'm done now? am I at risk for getting new primary cancers? And if so, what can we do about that? we will devote one episode to talking about that in more detail, with the hope that you can help yourself. The third essential element of survivorship care, 

[00:25:54] G van Londen: is health behaviors or lifestyle. we all have different [00:26:00] ways in which we live and we all have different ways in which we cope. And, um, , lifestyle is a way in which you can regain control after your control has been taken away by a diagnosis of cancer that disrupted your entire life. 

[00:26:19] G van Londen: The next element of care we will talk about is the

[00:26:23] G van Londen: coordination of your care, which can be highly overwhelming. The multiple appointments that you have to attend to on top of, your, personal life, your work, you're trying to rest, you're trying to heal. And, by the way, everybody thinks you're done with treatment. So you should be able to resume, if not catch up on everything you're behind on.

[00:26:45] G van Londen: And that can put a lot of stress on you. we will give you tools skills inspiration and empowerment to try to, decrease the expectations that others and yourself, [00:27:00] put on you. last but not least, again in random order, is the, experience of post treatment symptoms that you, may still deal with, and how to assess them and how to manage them yourself and when to ask for professional help, to cope with these, symptoms.

[00:27:23] G van Londen: All these topics are important. we hope you will enjoy, listening to this. we will post them serially, so if you listen to this podcast and you have a question or a topic that you would like Colleen and I to address, please, share these questions and we will try to incorporate, the answers into the upcoming episodes.

[00:27:46] G van Londen: Colleen, did I Say something you would like to, clarify or expand upon.

[00:27:53] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: I think, you just laid out what the plan is moving forward. I look forward to it. I [00:28:00] also love the idea of any comments that people might have that we can address because that always makes it interesting you know, hear what our listeners are thinking about and, for us to comment back and it gives some answers to maybe some questions.

[00:28:14] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: I will say one more thing. we do the LLPCT programs, but you and I, as well as a nurse navigator from the Allegheny Health Network, facilitate a monthly post cancer treatment support group. So if somebody was interested in joining that group, they can learn about

[00:28:37] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: these five essentials as well, because we talk about them in that group, and it's not as much of a commitment. You do become a member at Cancer Bridges, but it's another chance to connect with this community of people who are, moving forward. in life post cancer.

[00:28:55] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Yeah, that's a very good point. I forgot about that. this is a [00:29:00]monthly meeting that lasts an hour. It is for free. it's a core, Group of people who are there every time and then there's some people that, cannot come every time, but they get to know each other.

[00:29:13] G van Londen: The group is growing. I think there's now around 20 people every time on the zoom and, they start to get to know each other and really, Support each other sometimes we have educational topics and sometimes we just have an open ended session where we see where the group takes us and we cover every topic under the sun, I always love these sessions, I will put a link to this particular, meeting, as well in the podcast description box. and maybe we can ask the nurse navigator from Allegheny Health Network to join us for the care coordination episode.

[00:29:49] G van Londen: we can't wait to do the next episode and we hope you'll join us there. Thank you everybody for listening. 

[00:29:56] Colleen Dwyer Diehl: Thanks everybody.