Coping with Advanced Cancer @ National Cancer Institute
Patients facing terminal cancer often experience a range of emotions. This section of the National Cancer Institute's Web site offers information about choices for end-of-life care for adult cancer patients. It provides resources for emotional support, such as how to talk to loved ones. It also contains practical resources, such as a Personal Affairs Worksheet, which patients can use to inventory their bank accounts, insurance, pension, mortgage, and credit card contact information for their families. The site is based on the most current information available and on interviews with patients, their families, and their caregivers.
The National Cancer Institute's Web site offers detailed information about emotional concerns related to cancer diagnosis and treatment, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and issues of spirituality.
Self-Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer @ sharecancersupport.org
SHARE offers a wide range of support groups and educational programs, free of charge, for patients with breast and/or ovarian cancer and their families. Support groups include those for young women, parents and children, survivors, and patients dealing with metastatic cancer. While most groups meet regularly, some groups meet only for a one-time session, including those on genetic testing and breast reconstruction. Educational programs center around current topics and the latest treatment options. The organization's Web site provides a listing of support groups and educational programs and their dates and locations. Most are held in the New York City area.
SHARE provides telephone hotlines staffed by breast cancer and ovarian cancer survivors. SHARE volunteers speak several languages in addition to English and Spanish. The toll-free number is 866-891-2392.You can also email the breast, ovarian, and Latina (Spanish) hotlines directly.
Support for Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers @ National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute's online booklet, Taking Time: Support for People with Cancer, can help newly diagnosed cancer patients and their loved ones adjust to a diagnosis of cancer, talk about cancer, learn about their disease, feel more in control, and know where to turn for help.
This online community for young adults with cancer offers humor, tips, discussion boards, and a live chat room for support and encouragement. Information on the site is at times irreverent, but brutally honest when it comes to the unique issues faced by young adults with cancer: including dating with cancer, loss of fertility, or putting school or a new career on hold. Separate discussion boards are available for specific types of cancer and related topics, including fertility, transplants, dating, relationships, and sexuality, and family issues. You must register to participate. The site also offers "Cancertainment", including reviews of books and music, written by (or for) young adults with cancer, free videogames and a blog. And, you can access a list of support groups by state for young adult cancer patients.
Cancer ListServs @ Association of Cancer Online Resources
The Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) provides information and support to cancer patients and those who care for them through cancer-related Internet mailing lists and Web-based resources. Mailing lists include numerous cancer support groups, language-specific groups, and groups that are focused on a particular cancer.
ACOR hosts about 160 cancer-related Internet mailing lists. There are mailing lists that offer "psychosocial" support to cancer patients, including those experiencing depression related to diagnosis or treatment, fatigue, and fertility issues. This support is offered by patients and patient advocacy groups. There is also a list for caregivers.
Many of the lists have at least 200 subscribers and, therefore, generate a high volume of e-mail every day. You can see how many subscribers are in each list before you subscribe. If you subscribe to any of the lists, you should expect to receive a lot of e-mail. You can opt to receive one large e-mail daily instead of individual e-mails each time a member sends a message to a list.
CancerCare offers free counseling either individually or through professionally run support groups on a wide range of topics. Both types of counseling are offered online, by phone, or in person (at CancerCare locations in New York, Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut). CancerCare social workers can also guide patients and family members to counseling and support groups in their own communities.
A full listing of CancerCare support groups is available on the Web site. Online support groups via message boards are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are moderated by professional oncology social workers. There are support groups for patients, caregivers, and those who have lost a loved one to cancer. These groups are sub-categorized by type of cancer, treatment side effects, age group, survivorship, and relationship to the patient, (e.g., parents, spouses, etc.). Participation in online support groups is free and confidential, but you must register to participate.
What is unique about CancerCare's online support groups is that the social worker facilitating the group maintains regular contact with each of its participants. This facilitator will reply to unanswered questions and concerns as needed and offer guidance and resources to the group. Support group participants can also contact their social worker at CancerCare if they need additional support.
Online Support Groups and Wellness Programs @ The Wellness Community
The Wellness Community provides free, online support groups for people with cancer and their loved ones. Support groups are also offered in person at each of the organization's 24 locations worldwide (mostly in the US), as are a full range of support services, including stress management sessions, educational programs, exercise sessions, and nutrition workshops. All services -- whether online or in person -- are free of charge.
Professionally facilitated online support groups are held weekly. There are groups for adults with cancer and for loved ones/caregivers. Support groups also are available in Spanish. To participate, you must register, a process that includes completing an online registration form.
Gilda's Club provides opportunities for people living with cancer to build social and emotional support networks through support groups, lectures, workshops, and social events in nonresidential, homelike settings called clubhouses. Gilda's Club currently serves more than 50,000 members in 21 cities with 30 clubhouses across North America. The Gilda's Club Web site provides information about how to become a member. Membership is free. There is a clickable map of the United States that shows club locations. There is also a Resource Directory that includes a selective number of links to sites that are national or international in scope and contain useful and responsibly written information. Those interested in membership can call 888-GILDA-4-U.
Support Groups and Education in Your Community @ American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society's Web site provides a list of Society-sponsored resources and programs throughout the United States. A listing of resources, from programs that provide free wigs to patients who have lost their hair as a side effect of their cancer treatment, to workshops on how to cope, are available by entering your zip code or city and state. Along with these helpful resources, community fundraising events are also listed. The "Local Resources" section lists programs specifically for cancer patients and their families. You will also find a link to "Join the Discussion", which leads you to a virtual community message board, allowing you to exchange questions and stories with other cancer patients online.
