Perspectives When Undergoing Cancer Treatment and Beyond Treatment

Giselle K. Perez, PhD is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and a clinical health psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She has a strong interest in cancer survivorship and behavioral intervention research and is committed to identifying innovative solutions to improve cancer prevention, health care equity, and cancer outcomes among vulnerable, underserved and minority groups, particularly adolescents and young adults. Specific research interests include the development of behavioral and mind-body interventions to promote stress coping and improve overall physical and emotional health outcomes for patients throughout the cancer spectrum. Clinically, she specializes in working with adolescents and young adults touched by cancer with a focus on managing the unexpected social and emotional challenges that occur after cancer treatment, improving stress and anxiety symptoms, coping with uncertainty, and promoting health behavior change. In particular, her work examines the physical, psychosocial, and biobehavioral (e.g., stress hormones) effects of stress and stress interventions in cancer patients and survivors.