“How will I get to the hospital for treatment every day?” “Is there somewhere that I can stay while getting treated?” “Where can I find additional sources of support?”
These seemingly simple questions often cause a great amount of distress for patients with a new cancer diagnosis. As the Oncology Resource Specialist at the Mass General Cancer Center, Petrina Jacob finds answers to these concerns and many more. She works directly with patients and in close collaboration with the oncology social work team to provide accurate, up-to-date, and relevant information and resources for many of the patients who walk through the doors of the Cancer Center.
Combining compassion and kindness with organization and responsiveness, Petrina is absolutely instrumental in reducing the daily burden of cancer for patients and their families. It may be a low profile role, but her guidance is most definitely front and center when it comes to putting people at ease. What’s more, her skills have proved invaluable to the social workers at the Cancer Center.
Social worker Natasha Johnson, MSW, LICSW, knows that Petrina “goes above and beyond what is needed for her job in order to help a patient.” Emily Doerr, MSW, LICSW, sees first hand that Petrina’s “positive attitude, both when speaking with patients and staff, makes such a big difference when patients are under such great stress.” And Megan Vandenberg, MSW, LICSW, adds, “I would not be able to provide my level of clinical care without Petrina’s assistance and collaboration.
