About Kelly Irwin, MD
Dr. Irwin is an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a faculty psychiatrist at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and MGH Schizophrenia Program where she founded the Cancer Prevention Program. Dr. Irwin graduated from Harvard University in 2001, worked with Doctors for Global Health in El Salvador, and then returned to Harvard Medical School, receiving her MD in 2008, and completing her residency in psychiatry at MGH and McLean in 2012. She received the Dupont-Warren Fellowship from Harvard Medical School in 2013 and the Program in Cancer Outcomes Research Training (PCORT) fellowship in 2015.
Dr. Irwin is the Director of the Collaborative Care and Community Engagement Program, a research and clinical program focused on improving cancer outcomes for people with severe mental illness. In collaboration with community partners, she is also establishing a 2nd opinion service for patients with severe mental illness and cancer.
Departments, Centers, & Programs:
Clinical Interests:
- Disparities in mental health
- Psychiatric Oncology
- Schizophrenia
Treats:
- Adult
Languages:
- Spanish
Locations
Mass General Cancer Center: Psychiatric Oncology and Behavioral Sciences
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 877-726-5130
Medical Education
- MD, Harvard Medical School*
- Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital
American Board Certifications
- Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Evernorth Behavioral Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- MassHealth
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicare
- Medicare ACO
- Multiplan
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- United Behavioral Health
- Wellpoint
- WellSense
- WellSense NH
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Dr. Irwin’s research interests focus on understanding health disparities for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). Dr. Irwin is interested in understanding why people with SMI including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are more likely to die from cancer and in developing interventions to improve cancer outcomes throughout the continuum of cancer care including prevention, early detection, treatment, and end-of-life care. She is investigating communication about smoking cessation, perceptions of cancer risk, and cancer screening in individuals with schizophrenia. She is also conducting a retrospective cohort study investigating inequities in cancer treatment for patients with severe mental illness and completing a qualitative study of oncology and mental health clinicians examining barriers to cancer care for people with schizophrenia. With support from the American Cancer Society, she is currently piloting an intervention incorporating proactive psychiatry consultation and case management for individuals with severe mental illness and cancer.
Publications
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Selected Publications
Edwards KE, Neville BA, Cook EF, Aldridge SH, Dussel V, Wolfe J. Understanding of Prognosis and Goals of Care Among Couples Whose Child Died of Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2008; 26(8), 1310-15.
Wolfe J, Hammel JF, Edwards KE et al. Easing of Suffering in Children with Cancer at the End of Life: Is Care Changing? J Clin Oncol 2008; 26(10), 1717-23.
Irwin KE, Greer JA, Khatib J, Temel JS, Pirl WF. Early Palliative Care and Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Potential Mechanisms of Prolonged Survival. Chronic Respiratory Disease. 2012; 10(1), 35-47.
Irwin KE, Henderson DC, Knight HP, Pirl WF. Cancer Care for Individuals with Schizophrenia. Cancer. 2014; Feb 1;120(3):323-34.