Oncology Social Worker

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Social workers play an important role in helping ocular melanoma patients navigate their diagnosis and treatment. Molly Vocino is an oncology social worker with the Medical Oncology Team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, and she has a unique perspective on the challenges OM patients face:

“Most OM patients live a great distance from their specialists and treatment teams. The cost and physical burden of traveling for medical care are overwhelming and can become a barrier to successful treatment.

Put simply, patients are forced to either put their lives on hold and pay for travel, or to accept less-than-ideal treatment options or care from a team without OM experience. Resources like Eye on Grace help eliminate the latter options and make it much easier for me to assist patients in accessing the best possible care.

I have had several patients who needed travel support to be able to participate in clinical trials that prolonged their lives. Many clinical trial sponsors offer support for travel and lodging, but often, it is not enough to meet the need. When we take the burden of paying for travel off the patient’s plate, it allows them space to breathe and make decisions about their care based more purely on medical need rather than logistics. And it is a huge relief for our team here that fewer patients end up declining care that might otherwise really help.”