Syracuse, NY | January 2014
CANCER SERVICES INCLUDE PSYCHIATRIC CARE ne of the first things psychiatrist Aliya Hafeez, MD tells her patients is that she began specializing in psychiatry services for people with cancer because she is a breast cancer survivor, herself.
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“I feel like it’s an additional degree that I’ve gotten,” she says of her health ordeal, which began with a diagnosis in November 2009. She went through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery at Upstate’s Regional Oncology Center. “Now I get to work with all the doctors who treated me.”
Aliya Hafeez, MD
Her office is at the same location many cancer patients come to see their physicians. “Psychologically, it makes a huge difference if they get to see me where they come for their care,” she says. “I want to make them feel like my care is part of their cancer treatment.” Hafeez sees patients at the Patricia J. Numann Center at Upstate’s Harrison Specialty Services center. Hafeez joined the Upstate staff a couple years ago, after completing her psychiatry residency in 2007 at Upstate. She obtained her medical degree from Fatima Jinnah Medical College in Pakistan. She has a research and clinical interest in integrative holistic medicine and integrative treatments for mental illness and breast cancer. Her personal experience with breast cancer left her feeling fortunate. She was able to take time off work, and family members took care of her throughout chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Her sister or brother would accompany her to medical appointments. “Mom and Dad stayed home and prayed.” Cancer is something we cannot control, but Hafeez says her experience taught her that “you can control how you go through that experience with cancer,” and she hopes to share that with her patients. Survival rates for cancer are improving, though the disease still has a negative association with death. Hafeez wants to step away from the gloom and doom and focus more on living the best life possible. She offers individual psychotherapy and psychopharmacology and hopes to add a stress reduction group and other support groups after the Upstate Cancer Center opens. ■
Upstate Connect: 800-544-1605 for Physician-To-Physician Service
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