Catherine Marshall’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998. As a daughter she wanted to help. However, she believes that her knowledge and skills as a research professor were not adequate to understand quickly enough how to best support her father in making treatment decisions. Why do we wait until diagnosis to learn about cancer? Maybe reading the stories of how others have faced cancer can help ready us to take action when needed.
Since 2004, Catherine’s work has focused on cancer as a chronic illness and the impact of the cancer experience on the family. In April 2007 she received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Individual Senior Fellowship.
Funded by the National Cancer Institute, this two-year award supported her research, Cancer Control and the Influence of Family. Now Catherine is a Senior Scholar with the UA Center of Excellence in Women’s Health. She is a also Frances McClelland Associate Research Professor; Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, & Families; Norton School of Family & Consumer Sciences; University of Arizona.
This Frances McClelland Institute ResearchLink summarizes Catherine Marshall’s edited book Surviving Cancer as a Family and Helping Co-Survivors Thrive (2010). Alice F. Chang, Ph.D., Academy for Cancer Wellness, with Paul Donnelly, contributed the chapter, “Trees Don’t Mourn the Autumn: A Creative Response.”
How Families Cope with Cancer - Frances McClelland Institute PDF