Andrea Patenaude

Dr. Andrea Farkas Patenaude, of Brookline, died on January 29, 2018. Cherished wife of Leonard, beloved mother of Mason and loving sister of Walden Farkas . Dr. Patenaude, a clinical psychologist, was internationally renowned for her pioneering work focused on the psychosocial impact on people effected by cancer. Dr. Patenaude, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, is recognized internationally for her many contributions to understanding and improving psychosocial care for people living with cancer.

Early in her career, she developed the psychosocial consultation model for bone marrow transplant patients and consulted for more than a decade with BMT patients and staff at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She led the DFCI Pediatric Psychology Program for 12 years and advanced that group’s clinical and academic missions. Later, as a researcher in the evolving field of cancer genetics, she worked with Drs. Frederick Li and Judy Garber to assess the impact of identification of cancer–predisposing mutations on individuals and their families, including the lifelong screening protocols recommended for mutation carriers. She also developed a unique hereditary cancer psychosocial clinic to support and treat members of these high-risk families, and educated the international psychosocial community about this issue. More recently, Dr. Patenaude has worked globally to reduce hospital detention and treatment abandonment and to grow psychosocial oncology in low and moderate income nations.

Dr. Patenaude has held leadership positions in many professional organizations, lectured on every continent but Antarctica, authored 2 books and over 70 peer-reviewed articles, and co-authored a handbook on pediatric psychosocial oncology and the Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer. She has mentored generations of students and participated in numerous NIH Working Groups and task forces. At HMS, she chaired the 2008 Joint Committee on the Status of Women, and she also chaired the Harvard University Milton Fund which provides support for Harvard junior faculty across the University. Dr. Patenaude received a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association and the Rosalie G. Weiss Award from the American Psychological Foundation, and in 2013 was recognized with the Noemi Fisman Award for Lifetime Clinical Excellence from the International Psycho-Oncology Society.

In addition to her amazing professional career, Dr. Patenaude was an incredible cook and a great source of love and support to everyone in her life.

A memorial celebration of her life will be held in the Spring.

In lieu of flowers, please make a gift in Andrea's name to The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, 500 NE Spanish River Blvd, Suite 8, Boca Raton, FLA 33431.