About Caroline Cárdenas, Ph.D., MSN, RN
I’m here to walk with you.
I’m a Psycho-Oncology Coach, Grief Coach, Certified Mother Loss Grief Coach, and Dignity Therapy Coach with more than 20 years of experience in oncology and hospice nursing across the United States. I’ve had the honor of supporting individuals and families at some of the most respected cancer institutions in the country, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, City of Hope, San Diego Hospice, and UC San Diego Health Moores Cancer Center. My clinical work spans the full spectrum of cancer care, end-of-life care, and grief—from diagnosis through treatment, survivorship, and bereavement.
I hold a Ph.D. in Psychology from Meridian University, where I developed and published my doctoral research, The Significance of Play in Restoring Compassion, available on ProQuest. My research explored how play can awaken empathy, restore compassion, and reignite a sense of meaning and purpose in the lives of helping professionals. I also hold a Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University, where I specialized in education and focused on supporting the emotional well-being of nurses through play.
At the Center for Psycho-Oncology Care, I offer virtual coaching sessions that are warm, collaborative, and forward-focused. My work is deeply informed by my research, academic training, and extensive professional experience supporting individuals through the physical, emotional, and relational challenges that accompany serious illness and loss.
Psycho-Oncology Coaching is not psychotherapy—it is a non-clinical, supportive approach that helps individuals and caregivers navigate the emotional and existential complexities of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Having spent over two decades walking alongside clients undergoing surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, I understand not only the clinical path but the emotional toll these experiences can carry. Whether you’re facing a new diagnosis, in active treatment, or moving through survivorship or anticipatory grief, I offer a grounded and compassionate space to process what’s unfolding, move through the challenges you’re facing, and begin to explore what healing can look and feel like for you.
In Mother Loss Grief Coaching, I support women of all ages navigating the lifelong impact of losing a mother. Having lost my own mother at 21, I bring both personal understanding and advanced professional training to this sacred and often under-recognized grief. Clients often share that they feel truly seen—held with tenderness, insight, and a sense of connection that honors their unique story and capacity for healing.
In my broader Grief Coaching practice, I support individuals who are living with loss—whether recent, long-held, or anticipatory. Grief is not something to be fixed or rushed. It is something to be witnessed and tended to with care. I walk alongside clients through the sorrow, uncertainty, and transformation that loss brings, offering steady presence, meaningful tools, and hope.
As a Dignity Therapy Coach, I support individuals nearing the end of life in reflecting on what has mattered most to them—who they’ve been, what they’ve loved, and what they wish to leave behind. Dignity Therapy is a narrative-based process that helps create a legacy manuscript filled with meaningful memories, values, and messages for loved ones. With my background in oncology, hospice, psychology, and narrative care, I guide this process with reverence and warmth—helping clients affirm their dignity, purpose, and belonging, while leaving behind a lasting gift of love and remembrance.
If you are living with cancer, carrying the weight of grief, navigating the tender ache of mother loss, or seeking meaning and legacy through Dignity Therapy, I am here to walk with you—with compassion, skill, and the deepest respect for your story
An Interview with Caroline
Q: What drives your commitment to working with individuals diagnosed with cancer and/or their loved ones?
A: For over two decades, I’ve walked alongside individuals and families navigating the emotional, physical, and spiritual weight of a cancer diagnosis. What drives me is the human connection—witnessing moments of truth, vulnerability, courage, and tenderness. Cancer often stirs profound questions about identity, meaning, and legacy. I’m honored to hold space for that process and support people as they rediscover their own strength, voice, and sense of purpose—especially in the most uncertain terrain.
Q: Have you ever been touched personally by cancer?
A: Yes. I lost my mother to metastatic breast cancer when I was just 21 years old. That loss was life-altering. It shaped my personal and professional journey in ways I could never have predicted. I’ve also cared for thousands of patients across all stages of cancer, from diagnosis to end of life. These experiences have taught me how to be present, how to listen with my whole being, and how to walk beside others through the unknown.
Q: What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice a patient with cancer has offered you?
A: One of the most powerful lessons came not through words, but through witnessing how patients live—how they savor time, speak from the heart, and make room for both grief and gratitude. I’ve learned that courage isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s a whisper: showing up for another day, asking for help, laughing in the middle of it all. That kind of grace has shaped the way I live and the way I serve.
Q: If you had to change your entire persona and only keep one part, what would that be?
A: I would keep my capacity to feel deeply and love fiercely. That inner well of compassion, even when stretched, keeps me anchored to what matters most. It’s what allows me to do this work with reverence and joy.
Q: What do you do for fun and enjoyment?
A: I hoop dance—and I teach it, too! I’ve been dancing with a hula hoop for over 18 years, using movement and rhythm as a pathway back to joy, expression, and presence. I also love dancing salsa, reading, taking long nature meditation walks (also known as forest bathing), and spending time with family and friends. Play, for me, isn’t frivolous—it’s vital. It’s where I return when I need to feel most alive.