Sara Monteiro is an integrated researcher of the AgeingC group, of Thematic Line 1 – Preventive Medicine & Societal Challenges, of CINTESIS, dedicated to Psycho-Oncology.
She was born in 1979 and grew up in a small village called Caldas da Felgueira, in Nelas, Viseu, where she studied up to the 12th grade. She has always enjoyed various subjects, from different scientific areas, considering herself a curious person. Her interest in psychology only arose in secondary school. She was 17 when she entered the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Coimbra, where she completed a pre-Bologna degree in Psychology, specializing in Cognitive-Behavioural Clinical Psychology. She has worked as a clinical psychologist in a number of health institutions. She volunteered at a hospital in Coimbra and also worked as a volunteer with the Portuguese League against Cancer (LPCC).
In 2006, she completed her Master in Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon. “In addition to my good grades, I always loved studying and was very curious about the field of research. It was a very enriching experience. I learned a lot,” she recalls.
It was during her master’s studies that the opportunity arose to pursue a doctorate at the University of Aveiro (UA), which she completed in 2008 with a scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). She spent another year at the UA on a post-doctoral scholarship from the FCT.
“I had the opportunity to work as a Research Assistant on a project at the University of Aveiro and I was very encouraged to go on to do a PhD. The research project focused on promoting academic success in the context of higher education, from a broad perspective, touching on areas such as health promotion, well-being, and the quality of life of university students,” she says.
In 2009, she began teaching, initially as a Guest Assistant and, in 2010, as a Guest Assistant Professor at the University of Aveiro, where she has remained to this day. She has also been an Assistant Professor at the Universidade Aberta since 2021.
As a researcher at CINTESIS for nearly a decade, her assessment is very positive. “It’s been a great experience, a very enriching experience, due to the interdisciplinary nature of the Center and the fact that it has a very wide range of researchers from different related areas. This allows us to have contact with a range of researchers and institutions that we probably wouldn’t have had otherwise or would have had more difficulty with,” she says. She highlights the “dynamics of communication, which is very important in science” and which “not all centers have developed that much”.
Her research interests have included individual and family psychological adjustment processes in normative and risk contexts, especially cancer; the development and evaluation of the effectiveness of psychological intervention programs; and the development and validation of psychological assessment instruments.
In recent years, she has been studying, in particular, the reproductive concerns of young women who have survived breast cancer and how these concerns influence their psychological adjustment. The researcher is also interested in understanding how health services deal with the reproductive concerns of young women diagnosed with cancer, as well as their partners.
“This is an area that is very close to our hearts. Cancer is increasingly occurring at a young age. Many of these women see their life plans, specifically those related to motherhood, interrupted by the diagnosis of cancer. With the postponement of the birth of their first child, which happens for personal and professional reasons, this project of motherhood is often interrupted when there isn’t even a first child,” she stresses.
The researcher is also interested in understanding how health services deal with the reproductive concerns of young women diagnosed with cancer.
“When there is a diagnosis of cancer, there is a great concern to ensure treatment in the shortest possible time to guarantee the person’s survival. That’s the main objective. Sometimes, any plans for parenthood at that stage can seem secondary, both to the professional team providing care and to the person who has been diagnosed with a serious and life-threatening illness,” she observes.
She believes that increasing attention is being paid to this matter and that the health services are more and more able to provide the necessary clarification to the person with the peace of mind that is possible in a situation like this so that they can make a decision or have their share in the decision-making process in an informed manner, but she is not unaware that there may still be some difficulties.
“Unfortunately, it’s still the case that many women reach the end of their treatment cycles without having an accurate idea of the consequences this can have on their reproductive health. Only then do they sometimes realize that they will have difficulty having children. This doesn’t mean that their options wouldn’t have been the same if they had been given more information, but the idea of being part of the decision is very important for the acceptance process. It’s essential that we help not only women, but also men. This is a field we want to pursue from now on. It’s essential to accompany couples in making informed decisions,” she warns.
Another line of research in which she participates focuses on understanding the capacity for work in cancer survivors and caregivers, specifically family caregivers. This topic is becoming increasingly important due to the growing number of cancer survivors.
“We are interested in how survivors adapt to their work in the post-illness phase. Returning to work is a very important milestone for working-age cancer survivors. For many, this is the milestone of a cure and, even if it isn’t, it’s a return to normality,” she emphasizes.
On the other hand, “we want to find out about the capacity for work of informal caregivers, who are often family members, particularly spouses, and parents who have to stop working to provide care. When cancer strikes, it affects not just the patient, but the whole family. There may be a need for professional reorganization of informal caregivers.”
“We would like to continue developing this area of research in a more sustained way. At the moment, this line of research is not being funded. One of the objectives for the next few years would be to get funding for this project. We know that obtaining funding is a difficulty that is not unique to our area. Fortunately, over the last few years, we’ve had a few projects funded as part of doctoral scholarships and we’ve been able to boost and build up a group. Still, of course, we’d like to see more funding,” she says.
Sara Monteiro currently has several scientific articles published in specialized national and international journals and is the author of several chapters and books.
What is your 1-Year Ambition?
I would very much like to develop a project on the psychological adjustment of couples to cancer, from a dyadic perspective. At the same time as investigating each other’s psychological adjustment to the disease and individual reproductive concerns, we also want to understand how, as a dyad, spouses impact each other. The partner is often forgotten. In addition, we know that recruiting partners is extraordinarily difficult. We find less willingness and less openness to talk. This is also why the subject takes on a new significance.
What is your 10-Year Ambition?
I love what I do. And so, if in another 10 years, I can be doing what I’m doing today, I’ll feel happy and fulfilled. Having said that, if I can further consolidate the lines of research in which I have invested so much, if I can obtain funding for the research projects I intend to develop, and thus increase the research team and strengthen international collaboration networks, I think the feeling of accomplishment will be even greater.
How is Life Beyond Teaching, Clinical Practice, and Research?
I love spending time with my family, walking outdoors, photographing, going to the beach and traveling.