On a Mission for Better Healthcare
- Patrick Dempsey, 58, opened the doors to his first Dempsey Center in 2008 while his late mother Amanda was going through ovarian cancer.
- With the mission of helping people impacted by cancer, treating “the person, not the disease,” the centers have now served 15,000 people around the country with no cost services and individualized care.
- The Dempsey Center is filling in the gaps of what can be lacking in cancer care, stressing the importance of accessing information about survivorship programs.
“As our founder @patrickdempsey says, ‘At the Dempsey Center, we treat the person, not the disease.’ The Center offers services in three core areas: counseling; comfort + well-being; and integrative therapies,” a Thursday post on Instagram reads.
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“While modern medicine focuses on treating the disease, we focus on treating the person,” the post continues. “With our staff’s deep knowledge of cancer and breadth of service line offerings, we provide individualized support to help clients overcome the issues they experience along the way–all at no cost.”
“Through the 15 years since our founding, we’ve reached more than 15,000 patients in 32 states and four countries, while relying on gifts from individual donors, corporate sponsors and partners, and grants to ensure these services remain at no-cost for clients.”
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Through donation opportunities such as Thursday’s Dempsey Day of Giving, “clients are finding the care they need, no matter how they are impacted without bearing the financial burden these services normally require.”
“Thank you to everyone who has supported us today and throughout the year,” the message concludes. “We are so grateful for your commitment to our mission to make life better for people impacted by cancer.”
Patrick Dempsey’s Mission
Dempsey, known from the long-running TV show Grey’s Anatomy and the romantic comedy feature Can’t Buy Me Love (1987), is making a true difference in the health space with the innovative model at the Dempsey Center.
The husband and father of three is proud that his mom “had the opportunity to see the center come to life. It was inspired by her journey and she spent a lot of time there,” Dempsey shared with SurvivorNet CEO Steve Alperin at the PHM Healthfront last April.
The mentorship program at the Dempsey Center is a special aspect of their patient care. “This was something that was really important to my mother,” Dempsey said.
“She didn’t quite understand, like a lot of people that she went through treatment with didn’t survive, and she did. ‘So why am I still here?’ was the question she asked herself,” Dempsey explained of his mother’s survivorship journey.
Everyone Should Have Access to Information
“And with our apprentice program or our partnership, a survivor can then go back in and take all of that knowledge and all that experience and communicate with someone who’s recently diagnosed. And that is a profound moment when you see those two people connecting and it’s part of their healing process.”
People Need Help Accessing Survivorship Care
According to a 2022 study of more than 1,800 breast cancer patients and 1,100 institutions, many people lack access to information about their disease as well as a supportive relationship with their care team.
Below are some of the study’s findings:
- One in four patients said they first learned about their diagnosis from an online portal as opposed to the people on their care team.
- Half of patients said their doctor did not help them understand their results and discuss treatments.
- 46% did not feel fully comfortable engaging their care team to advocate for themselves.
- Only about 55% of patients felt like their care team was accessible and/or their oncologist truly listened to them.
- Just over a quarter of patients feel they don’t have a trusted relationship with their care team.
- One in four patients feel they cannot make sense of their medical records, due to complexity or access.
- Only one in five were presented with a clinical trial as a treatment option.
WATCH: Patrick Dempsey’s Advice for Caregivers
“In the center… we try to simply ask the question, ‘What can we do to help you and support you in your cancer journey?’” Dempsey said. “And then listening to them and getting them the information that, hopefully, empowers them and gives them the confidence to go into their treatment emotionally and mentally and physically strong.”
The goal at SurvivorNet is to give all patients, regardless of their situation, access to the information they want and need after receiving a cancer diagnosis. We’ve collaborated with top doctors across the country to provide scientifically sound information that can help when deciding on treatment options, choosing a doctor and navigating life after your diagnosis.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
