Donations save jobs of Children's Hospital psychologists

OAKLAND — Donations have poured in to save the jobs of two clinical psychologists at Children's Hospital Oakland who specialize in working with child cancer patients and their families.

Some wrote checks for small amounts and others gave large contributions for a total of $330,000. The money is enough to cover the cost of the hospital's free counseling services for the children and families for at least the next year and half.

"I'm thrilled and moved,'' said Dina Hankin, a psychologist in the hospital's Hematology/Oncology Department. "I really feel like there's some angels out there who helped the program survive.''

Hankin and her colleague, Pamela Orren, returned to work this week after a short hiatus. The original funding for their salaries from private a benefactor dried up last month.

With new backing, the psychologists can continue to offer a range of services to families, including bereavement, pain management and school reintegration.

The hospital's model is one of the most innovative in the Bay Area for providing psychological services for children who have cancer and their extended families. The long-term follow-up services offered to the growing number of pediatric cancer survivors also makes the program unusual.

Greg and Ellen Davis are among many of the parents who said they are glad to see the doctors back to work. Their 12-year-old son's bout with brain cancer has been stressful for their family,

Research shows that 5 percent to 10 percent of parents with children who have cancer develop post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Their son was diagnosed in January and has visited with Hankin regularly during his chemotherapy treatment.

"We realized early on that he had issues beyond what we could help him with,'' said Davis, 47, of Lafayette. "She was able to reach him over time and help him work through a lot of issues.''

Davis said his son seldom smiled and was sad all the time.

He said the psychologist helped him to realize that his son was grieving the lost of his childhood, school year and sports seasons.

"Once I understood that, it helped me help him more,'' Davis said.

His son's radiation therapy is scheduled to be complete next week and then he will enter long-term care.

For the past several months, many families have worked to create the Psychology Oncology Program, a nonprofit under the hospital's foundation. They also have written several grant proposals and designed a Web site. Currently, they are meeting with private foundations and brainstorming ideas for fund-raising events.

Emma Bishopp, a parent organizer for the program, said it needs ongoing financial support.

She said it will cost about $130,000 to keep it up and running annually.

In addition, the group is setting up a plan to get reimbursement help from medical insurance companies.

"I think what we've done is really positive but we are not out of the woods,'' Bishopp said.

Reach Kamika Dunlap at kdunlap@bayareanewsgroup.com or 510-208-6448.