Dr. Jill Montgomery and massage therapist Ann Wetherbee pose in the Perspectives physical training room, where cancer survivors can gain strength during and after treatment.

Jill Montgomery, owner of Perspectives in Florence, describes herself as outspoken and outgoing, an avid reader, and a champion knitter.

A clinical psychologist, she also survived breast cancer in 1999. To work through her own bout with the disease, she said she turned to the things she knew – she leaned on her family, read text after text to become better informed about her illness, and remembers many a trip to the hospital during which nurses had to pry her knitting needles from fast-flying hands.

She said overall, the experience was challenging but positive, and opened her eyes to the many issues all cancer patients face during both treatment and recovery.
“I sort of wheeled and dealed my way through cancer,” she said. “I found people and things that I felt supported me in the ways I needed to be supported, and I put together my own team. I was very lucky.”

During her recovery, Montgomery began to turn that support outward, working with other cancer patients providing information or just an ear to bend, and blending her professional skills with her personal experiences. It was during that time that she began to recognize a common set of challenges among cancer patients, and several with which she was familiar, as well.

“There’s the issue of education,” she began. “Many people, many well educated people, still have some very superstitious or arcane ideas about cancer. Getting rid of those ideas is a huge step in eliminating fear. And there are proven, researched things that people can do to help their minds and their bodies, through exercise, nutrition, or counseling … many times, people only needed to hear once that such things were available to them, and they were able to move on with a different perspective on the disease.”

Research and Development

That was the motivation – and the company name – she needed to begin work on a business plan that would eventually lead to Perspectives, a psychosocial oncology-based practice that pools a number of professionals under one umbrella, providing emotional, social, physical, and financial support to cancer patients and their families.

Montgomery explained that psychosocial oncology, or psycho-oncology, is still a new sub-specialty in the field of cancer care, but one that is gaining international acceptance within the health care community. The International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS), of which Perspectives is a member, was founded in 1984, with the mission of fostering the science of psychosocial and behavioral oncology and improving the care of cancer patients and their families. She added that the specialty draws its practices from medically based, quantitative research, and is not an alternative to traditional cancer treatments, but rather an extension.

“There is no need for there to be any surplus horror when dealing with cancer,” Montgomery said. “But so much comes up beyond what physicians can deal with successfully as part of their practice. I wanted to put together a team that would provide a variety of services under one roof, to give people the help they need.”

The business took shape just this year, officially opening its doors in March on Main Street in Florence, and now accepts clients from across Western Mass.
Its home is one with some local history. Montgomery leases office space located in the former Florence Sewing Machine Co. building, and with the blessing of the property’s owner, Florence resident Bob Gougeon, who owns several properties in town, she refurbished the space to preserve the mill building’s brick walls and high windows, but to include new hardwood floors and private rooms.

“In a way, the building created the business,” she said. “I was searching for months for the right space, and everything was very static and sterile … then I walked in here and immediately saw where the different services I wanted to offer would fall into place, and everything clicked.”

Indeed, each service offered at Perspectives is scheduled by individual appointment and are conducted in a series of private rooms spread throughout the building.

Perspectives’ business model is also unique – it is technically a for-profit, sole proprietorship, owned by Montgomery, which offers the services of several professionals working as subcontractors in a wide range of disciplines. Montgomery offers psychotherapy and cancer crisis counseling, and is joined by Dr. Arthur Palladino, Perspectives’ director of education, who counsels clients in the medical aspects of their disease; Karen Kulakowski, an oncology nutritionist; Mark West, an exercise consultant and personal trainer; Margery Noel, a sex therapist; Janet Decker, an insurance management consultant, and Ann Wetherbee, an oncology massage therapist. The company assists cancer patients in areas ranging from safe exercise practices to achieving greater financial independence, to regaining intimacy between couples.

The Human Factor

“We deal with the human side of cancer,” Montgomery said. “Behavioral, financial, emotional, social. We refer amongst ourselves frequently, but everything is one-on-one; we don’t do group work. That allows us to be flexible but also consistent for individuals … they always have a point person they can come to at any time, who can lead them to the services they need.”

She said the seven independent contractors who currently represent Perspectives’ suite of services will sometimes collaborate on packages of services for clients. These include a six-week ‘back to work’ program that combines physical training with massage and psychotherapy as one example, and Montgomery has instituted knitting classes, as well – but for the most part, the business model is one that is intentionally pliable.

“We want to remain firmly grounded in the individual packages in order to offer what patients need when they need it,” Montgomery said.

Wetherbee added that the structure allows clients to access several different types of treatments and support at once, or different treatments over the course of time.

“There are seven of us here that patients can basically pick and choose from,” she said. “That helps to create the best path for someone to help them get to wherever it is they need to go.”

That path differs for everyone, she added. In her own practice as an oncology massage therapist, for instance, Wetherbee, who trained as a massage therapist and later studied the field of oncology massage at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said treatments vary based on a number of variables including where a patient is in terms of the treatment of their disease, or what medications are being taken.

“There is sound research that shows massage can help alleviate problems with nausea, pain, fatigue, or anxiety,” she said. “All of the treatments are custom-tailored to offer what is appropriate to each patient, but one goal for every patient is to help them reconnect with their physical self.”

Montgomery added that the process of reconnecting with oneself, either physically or emotionally, is a large part of healing as many people begin to identify more with the disease than with their individuality.

“It’s key to have that kind of support during treatment,” she said, “but also after treatment, and that is an area that is often neglected.”

Tight Knit Community

Asked to sum up what Perspectives does and how it does it, Montgomery said, “we help people feel better.

“That sounds simple,” she continued, “but it speaks to every way in which we move people forward in their lives during and after cancer. It’s inspiring, not depressing, and it’s an honor to have each and every person we work with share their own stories with us.”

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at stevenson@healthcarenews.com