SurvivorNet TV Presents: A Message of Hope From Actor Patrick Dempsey

SurvivorNet CEO Steve Alperin sat down with Dempsey an event hosted by Publicis Health Media, a large ad agency focused on health. Their event is called PHM Healthfront, and it's an important gathering of the people who develop and market drugs, including in oncology, and the people who help them find and talk to patients in a more effective way.

Dempsey’s journey began when he cared for his late mother during a lengthy ovarian cancer battle.

"She was a real fighter," Dempsey said in his conversation with SurvivorNet. "We learned a lot in the process.”

That included seeing the gaps that exist when someone learns they have cancer. Dempsey wanted to make sure other patients and families had a safe and welcoming place to go for the care their needed.

So in 2008, he opened The Dempsey Center, where people affected by cancer can find support through complementary services like group therapy, support groups, educational classes, grief counseling, meditation, yoga and acupuncture, among other offerings.

"What can we do to help you?" is one of the first questions they ask when a newly diagnosed cancer patient walks through their doors.

The Dempsey Center has locations in Portland and Lewiston, Maine. But people all across the country can also access their educational workshops, nutrition classes, movement and fitness classes, and integrative therapy workshops online here.

And if you’d like help finding similar support in your area, you have some options:

• American Cancer Society: Search the group’s online database of local programs and services that can help support you and your loved ones through your journey. ACS can also help connect you with free or low-cost resources.
• CancerCare’s A Helping Hand: This organization helps people find free, professional support services like educational workshops and counseling. Search the online database for resources in your area.
• Cancer Support Community: This non-profit group has locations across the country that offer support groups, yoga classes, and educational workshops for patients and their loved ones. Search their registry for a location near you.

Dempsey said 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."

For the last 15 years, he’s been improving the relationship between cancer patients and their care. And when one in four cancer patients is first learning of their diagnosis from an online portal instead of a human, that’s needed now more than ever.

Watch the empowering conversation on SurvivorNetTV.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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