[1][3] She subsequently obtained a Master of Science in psychology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City,[3] after taking a hiatus when her husband was called up for military service.

[1][5] After completing her doctorate, Cassileth remained at the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor and taught medical sociology.

She underscored how this was not intended to supplant traditional treatments, but add to it instead with practices that could reduce stress, alleviate discomfort, and ameliorate quality of life in general.

[2] She also conducted a study with colleagues that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1985, which found that a positive or negative attitude maintained by patients with advanced cancer had little impact on the result.

[7] She cited the example of Steve Jobs – who initially put off surgery in favor of alternative medicine – and was of the opinion that he "essentially committed suicide" by not seeking conventional treatment from the outset.

[1][7] Cassileth was recruited by Paul Marks of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in 1999 to establish an integrative care program at the hospital.