Dr. Holly Prigerson
Featured in CRAIN's New York Business, Dr. Holly Prigerson has received a $7 Million Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute that will further her study of the psychosocial influences on care for dying cancer patients.
A seven year renewal grant, this award will further research that Dr. Prigerson has been working on since 2015 focused on aggressive end-of-life care. In particular, Dr. Prigerson and her team will be piloting several interventions targeted to end-stage cancer patients and their caregivers in order to promote better communication and informed decision-making about care options.
“Not only is the number of people dying of cancer increasing, but the quality of those deaths continues to be alarmingly poor,” says Dr. Prigerson. “Many cancer patients suffer severely as a result of poor clinical communication and lack of attention to their physical, psychological, social, existential and spiritual care needs, as well as those of their family caregivers.”
Dr. Prigerson, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, WDOM, is the co-Director of the Weill Cornell’s Center for Research on End-of-Life Care and a Professor of Geriatrics and Sociology in Medicine.