Breast Cancer Survivor and SIUE School of Pharmacy Professor Kelly Gable Pens Patient Experience

EDWARDSVILLE - The Journal of Patient Experience features an article that covers a treatment breast cancer survivors may not even know they need: behavioral health care. Authored by Kelly Gable, PharmD, BCPP, FAAPP, professor and director of Well-being and Resilience at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy (SOP), the article "Dear Breast Cancer Oncology: Where is the Behavioral Health Care?" is told from the patient’s perspective. Gable, an avid runner and medical professional, was diagnosed with hormone positive breast cancer at 45 years of age. She underwent a mastectomy, suffered through the effects of chemotherapy and anti-estrogen treatment, that included debilitating joint pain. Depression was fast approaching. Mental health care was not.

Gable’s story details her persistence through a complex and disconnected treatment system.

"I have always been a fierce advocate for mental health care, in the classroom with our pharmacy students, and in clinical practice as a psychiatric pharmacist,” said Gable. “My hope is that sharing my lived experience through breast cancer treatment gives validation to others who may be going through a similar experience.”

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Gable’s publication cites that nearly 50% of women with early breast cancer experience depression, anxiety, or both in the year after diagnosis. In her article she shares her personal journey to take on a system while being thrown into menopause and months away from reconstructive surgery. She offers readers trauma-informed recommendations to repair a limited siloed healthcare system.

“This article is deeply personal and meaningful for me. I am sharing my own physical and emotional pain, with the hope that more awareness may lead to positive changes in how patients receive care.”

Gable joined SIUE in 2007 to teach core concepts of psychiatric medicine, psychopharmacology, and patient-centered communication. Within the SOP she implemented a psychiatry specialization after having worked nearly two decades as a psychiatric pharmacist in St. Louis. During her career, she witnessed firsthand results when patients collaborated with psychiatry as part of an integrated behavioral health team. This article is the first of many accounts those in the medical profession will incorporate as part of routine healing.

Gable added, “I hope that in some capacity, my story opens a conversation on how we can better integrate behavioral health and oncology services. Mental health wellness is a vital component to our overall well-being, and it simply cannot be forgotten.”

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality education that powerfully transforms the lives of all individuals who seek something greater. A premier metropolitan university, SIUE is creating social and economic mobility for individuals while also powering the workforce of the future. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Home to a diverse student body, SIUE is situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis.?

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