Dialogues

May 25, 2025, 06:08

Beyond the Cancer Diagnosis: Dialogue with Wendy Lichtenthal, by Adrian Pogacian

In the later episode of ‘Beyond the Cancer Diagnosis’, Adrian Pogacian explores grief, loss, and bereavement, addressing the question: “Why my child?”, along with Wendy G. Lichtenthal, PhD, FT, FAPOS is Director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Wendy G. Lichtenthal, PhD, FT, FAPOS is Director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor, Pending Rank, in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, which she joined in 2023. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked as a grief specialist for over 20 years. In 2005, she began her career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York City, where she was Founding Director of the Bereavement Clinic and Associate Attending Psychologist, and where she now serves as Consultant Faculty.

She was a recipient of the 2012 International Psycho-Oncology Society Kawano New Investigator Award, the 2019 Association for Death Education and Counseling Research Recognition Award, and the 2023 American Psychosocial Oncology Society Outstanding Clinical Care Award. She is a Fellow in Thanatology and was elected a Fellow of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society in 2024.

Adrian Pogacian, MS Psychology, clinical psychologist with executive education in Psycho-oncology, holding a degree in Global Health Diplomacy from Geneva Graduate Institute. Currently, researcher and associate lecturer with focus on Impact of Cancer Diagnosis on Couples and Families, Communication in Cancer Care and Posttraumatic Growth. His expertise is on Coping with Cancer and managing Fear of Recurrence.

Additionally, Founder of INCKA Psycho-oncology Center, Host of Beyond the Cancer Diagnosis Interview Series as well as Writer and Host Content in Psycho-oncology at OncoDaily.com, co-author of the first Romanian Multimodal Care Guideline in Pediatric Onco-hematology, active contributor to the International Psycho-oncology Society, presently IPOS Fear of Cancer Recurrence SIG member and IPOS Early Career Professionals in Psycho-Oncology Committee founder member.

00:00 – Introduction
01:13 – Defining grief, loss, and bereavement
05:00 – Working with bereaved parents in pediatric oncology
06:05 – Addressing the question: “Why my child?”
09:55 – Emotional reactions after diagnosis: fear, guilt, shame
13:27 – Introduction to Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy (MCGT)
14:17 – 4 core principles of MCGT
25:04 – What does legacy mean for a child who has passed?
28:07 – Continuing bonds and living legacy
29:29 – Closing thoughts and reflections