Receive emotional support from someone who’s been there.
OCRA’s Woman to Woman Peer Mentor Program provides gynecologic cancer patients and their loved ones with a trained Mentor who has gone through a similar experience and can share their insights and perspective. These Mentors are available to you from the moment of diagnosis through treatment and beyond, providing understanding, knowledge, and the reassurance that you are not alone.
Empathy, Connection, and Understanding Every Step of the Way
Mentors can connect with you through phone, video call, or sometimes even in person. They offer you a safe space to discuss your concerns and feelings and an opportunity for Mentors to share their experiences with you while offering support and understanding.
Mentors are carefully matched with you based on factors such as diagnosis, age, language, and culture to ensure that you have a supportive connection with someone who truly understands your journey.
Mentors are professionally trained in listening and communication skills and are supervised by experienced coordinators to provide one-on-one support tailored to your needs.
Finding the right support can make all the difference in your experience with gynecologic cancer. Whether you’re looking for in-person connections or virtual guidance, our Woman to Woman Peer Mentor Program offers options to meet your needs. Discover the ways we can support you below.
Connect with a Mentor at one of our many active program sites across the country. These locations provide in-person mentorship from trained survivor Mentors who understand your experience.
Explore our network of active program sites nationwide, where you can connect with trained Mentors in person for customized support and guidance.
Connecticut
Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven – New Haven, CT
Physician Champion: Elena Ratner, MD
Program Coordinator: Ruth Ann Ornstein
Massachusetts
Dana Farber Cancer Center** – Boston, MA
Physician Champion: Nadine McCleary, MD, MPH
Program Coordinator: Maritza Nassif and Rebecca Spelman
**this program is a partnership with Dana Farber’s One to One program
Below the Belt Women’s Cancer Outreach* – Barnstable, MA
Program Coordinator: Diane Riche
New York
The Mount Sinai Hospital – New York, NY
Physician Champion: Stephanie Blank, MD
Program Coordinator: Rachel Justus, LCSW, and Jilian Levinson LCSW, OSW-C
(Founding Program Site)
Hope for Heather* – Syracuse, NY
Program Coordinator: Frieda Weeks
Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine – Philadelphia, PA
Physician Champion: Anna Jo Smith, MD, MPH, MSc
Program Coordinator: Laura Quilley, RN, BSN, OCN
Illinois
Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago, IL
Physician Champion: Emily Hinchcliff, MD, MPH
Program Coordinator: Dara Belarmino
University of Chicago – Chicago, IL
Physician Champion: Nita Lee, MD, MPH
Program Coordinator: Cheska Zoleta, MSc
Kansas
University of Kansas Cancer Center – Kansas City, KS
Physician Champion: Lori Spoozak, MD, MHS, FACOG
Program Coordinators: Sarah Clouse RN, MSN and Malia Opat, LMSW
Missouri
St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness – St. Louis, MO
Physician Champion: David G. Mutch, MD
Program Coordinator: Robyn Hunter and Susan Robben
Ohio
Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Greater Cincinnati* – Cincinnati, OH
For a Mentor in the Greater Cincinnati area please contact Tracy Moore at 212-268-1002
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance – New Berlin, WI
Partner Hospital: Aurora BayCare
Physician Champion: Elizabeth Dickson Michelson, MD
Program Coordinator: Ashley Schneider
Alabama
Laura Crandall Brown Foundation – Birmingham, AL
Physician Champion: Monjri Shah, MD
Program Coordinator: Betsy Fetner
Mississippi
St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital – Jackson, MS
Physician Champion: Christen Haygood, MD
Program Coordinator: Jennifer Boone, RN, BSN, OCN and Jimmie Wells, RN, OCN, MSN
North Carolina
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center – Charlotte, NC
Physician Champion: J. Matthew McDonald, MD
Program Coordinator: Elyse Adams, LCSW
Tennessee
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center – Nashville, TN
Physician Champion: Alaina J. Brown, MD, MPH
Program Coordinator: Carla Amato-Martz, MSW
Colorado
Sue’s Gift – Colorado Springs, CO
Physician Champion: Dirk Pikaart, MD
Program Coordinator: Sherry Martin
We are actively expanding our OCRA Woman to Woman Programs to reach more individuals in need of support. If you live near or are being treated at any of these sites and wish to connect with a Woman to Woman Mentor, please fill out our contact form for the National Mentoring Program.
New Jersey
Cooper University Hospital – Camden, NJ
Physician Champion: David P. Warshal, MD
Program Coordinator: Lisa McLaughlin
Holy Name Medical Center – Teaneck, NJ
Physician Champion: Sharyn Lewin, MD
Program Coordinator: Courtney Lozano, MSW, LSW
University Hospital – Newark, NJ
Program Coordinator: Marisol Rivera
New York
New York-Presbyterian Hospital – New York, NY
Physician Champion: Jason D. Wright, MD
Program Coordinator: Lynette Williams
Stony Brook University Cancer Center – Stony Brook, NY
Physician Champion: Michael L. Pearl, MD
Program Coordinator: Linda Bily
Western New York Ovarian Cancer Project – Buffalo, NY
Partner Hospitals: Roswell Park Cancer Institute and CCS Oncology
Program Coordinator: Kathleen Maxian
Pennsylvania
Abington Memorial Hospital – Abington, PA
Physician Champion: Mark Shahin, MD
Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC – Pittsburgh, PA
Program Coordinators: Sara Maloney and Jennie Pabst
Rhode Island
Lifespan – Providence, RI
Physician Champion: Don Dizon, MD
Program Coordinator: Cheryl Murray, CT-LCSW, RI-LICSW
Arkansas
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – Little Rock, AR
Physician Champion: Kristin Zorn, MD
Program Coordinator: Mona Dee Nutt
Florida
Cancer Advocacy Resources Education (C.A.R.E.) – Melbourne, FL
Physician Champion: John Bomalaski, MD
Program Coordinator: Alice Spinelli
University of Miami – Miami, FL
Physician Champion: Matthew Schlumbrecht, MD
Program Coordinator: Teresa Neira, PhD, LCSW
Georgia
Northside Hospital – Atlanta, GA
Physician Champion: Guilherme Henrique C. Cantuaria, MD, PhD
Program Coordinator: Kymberly Duncan
Maryland
Johns Hopkins University – Baltimore, MD
Physician Champion: Stephanie Wethington, MD
Program Coordinator: Nancy Farruggia
Tennessee
University of Tennessee Medical Center – Knoxville, TN
Physician Champion: Larry C. Kilgore, MD
Program Coordinator: Lindsay Brezina, LMSW
*These sites are in partnership with the OCRA national Woman to Woman site and are not affiliated with a hospital.
If you’d like to talk to someone, and you’re not near one of our hospital or community-based program sites, we can connect you with someone through our national mentoring program. You can request a Mentor by email, phone or online—whatever works for you—and we’ll match you with a Mentor who’s right for you.
I’m a Mentor to a young adult survivor, and hopefully more in the future. We live hana pono, which to my family means living life with balance, harmony and integrity, and seeking to improve the surrounding world.
To become a Woman to Woman Mentor, start by completing the application. Accepted Mentors undergo training that covers the complexities of gynecologic cancers and prepares them to offer empathetic support. Patients, survivors, and loved ones are welcome to apply.
Interested in making a difference? Apply now to join our Woman to Woman program and start changing lives.
Woman to Woman was founded by ovarian cancer survivor Valerie Goldfein at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2004. Recognizing the importance of peer support, Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) was a long-time supporter of Woman to Woman at Mount Sinai and in 2011 expanded the program nationally as OCRA’s signature support program.
Since then, OCRA has supported the development of over 50 program sites. Today, there are 20 active Woman to Woman sites nationwide, including a large national team of OCRA Woman to Woman Mentors to ensure all those impacted by ovarian and gynecologic cancer, regardless of location, can connect with a Mentor who has shared a similar experience.
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