Breast Cancer Survivor and SIUE School of Pharmacy Professor Kelly Gable Pens Patient Experience

Breast Cancer Survivor and SIUE School of Pharmacy Professor Kelly Gable Pens Patient Experience

Gable Makes Urgent Call for Enhanced Mental Health Care Access

The Journal of Patient Experience features an article that covers a treatment breast cancer survivors may not even know they need: behavioral health care. Authored by Kelly Gable, PharmD, BCPP, FAAPP, professor and director of Well-being and Resilience at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy (SOP), the article "Dear Breast Cancer Oncology: Where is the Behavioral Health Care?" is told from the patient's perspective. Gable, an avid runner and medical professional, was diagnosed with hormone positive breast cancer at 45 years of age. She underwent a mastectomy, suffered through the effects of chemotherapy and anti-estrogen treatment, that included debilitating joint pain. Depression was fast approaching. Mental health care was not.

Gable's story details her persistence through a complex and disconnected treatment system.

"I have always been a fierce advocate for mental health care, in the classroom with our pharmacy students, and in clinical practice as a psychiatric pharmacist," said Gable. "My hope is that sharing my lived experience through breast cancer treatment gives validation to others who may be going through a similar experience."

Gable's publication cites that nearly 50% of women with early breast cancer experience depression, anxiety, or both in the year after diagnosis. In her article she shares her personal journey to take on a system while being thrown into menopause and months away from reconstructive surgery. She offers readers trauma-informed recommendations to repair a limited siloed healthcare system.

"This article is deeply personal and meaningful for me. I am sharing my own physical and emotional pain, with the hope that more awareness may lead to positive changes in how patients receive care."

Gable joined SIUE in 2007 to teach core concepts of psychiatric medicine, psychopharmacology, and patient-centered communication. Within the SOP she implemented a psychiatry specialization after having worked nearly two decades as a psychiatric pharmacist in St. Louis. During her career, she witnessed firsthand results when patients collaborated with psychiatry as part of an integrated behavioral health team. This article is the first of many accounts those in the medical profession will incorporate as part of routine healing.

Gable added, "I hope that in some capacity, my story opens a conversation on how we can better integrate behavioral health and oncology services. Mental health wellness is a vital component to our overall well-being, and it simply cannot be forgotten."

PHOTO: Kelly Gable, PharmD, BCPP, FAAPP, SIUE SOP professor and breast cancer survivor