Hello!
With 2023 now upon us, I wish everyone a peaceful, happy, and healthy year.
As much of the world emerges from the COVID pandemic, we who are immunocompromised must still be vigilant with our masking and social gatherings. As a result of that, many of us will also continue to have of feelings of depression…not only from a cancer diagnosis, but also from the social isolation.
Much discussion lately on IWMF Connect and on the IWMF Facebook Support Group page has centered around depression, and many questions have been asked and considered. So to shed a bit of light on the subject, the newest Torch has two articles that address some of those questions: Dr. Marshall Lewis covers why depression can be a very treatable illness, and Dr. Julianne Flora-Tostado offers some of her personal perspectives, including those as a psychotherapist and as a care partner. I hope these will be very helpful and give some encouragement to our readers who may be having issues with depression. In addition, we cover some of the discussion about depression that has appeared on our Facebook page.
In this new year, may we all find empowerment in the education the IWMF provides and companionship in the sharing of our experiences, concerns, and hopes with each other.
Best wishes!
Shirley Ganse
Editor, IWMF Torch
