A cancer diagnosis can bring many difficult emotions, including fear, anxiety, and a feeling of isolation. Support groups connect you with others in a similar situation who may relate to what you are experiencing.

We offer diagnosis-specific support groups, such as a group for people affected by colorectal cancer, as well as specialized support groups, including groups for men with cancer, young adults with cancer, and parents of children with cancer.

CancerCare’s support groups are led by professional oncology social workers, and are available online, over the telephone, and face-to-face in our offices in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut. To learn more about CancerCare‘s telephone and face-to-face support groups or to register, call 800‑813‑HOPE (4673).

Online support groups are password-protected, and members must go through a registration process. After completing the registration process, members can participate 24 hours, 7 days a week. New online support groups will be offered starting February 1.

View all of CancerCare’s free support groups.

CancerCare has compiled these most promising findings in its new booklet, Your Guide to the Latest Cancer Research and Treatments: Highlights from ASCO 2011, available online now. You can also order your free copies from our publications page.

Lung cancer survivor Phyllis Sobel and her team of fellow survivors, “For Our Heroes,” were honored with the “Anne Koebel Top Fundraiser Award” for raising more than $18,445 in support of our free services.

Team "For Our Heroes"

This year’s Top School Team was Molloy College, made up of 70 Molloy College athletes. Congratulations also to our Top Corporate Team, Team Marks Paneth & Shron, LLP, who raised over $10,000.

Molloy College's Baseball Team

You can still support our walkers through Dec. 31 by making a contribution online at our Walk for Hope site,  www.cancercare.org/lungcancerwalk

View more photos from the Walk on our Facebook page.

To learn more about how we help people affected by lung cancer, visit our lung cancer diagnosis page or www.lungcancer.org.

Thanks very much to this year’s generous sponsors, walkers, volunteers, in-kind donors, vendors, friends, and community partners for making this event such a success. See you next year!

CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller, with actress and Honorary Chairperson for the Avon Foundation Reese Witherspoon

Since 2000, The Avon Foundation for Women has generously supported CancerCare‘s financial assistance services, as well as other programs for underserved women facing breast cancer. Over the past 11 years of our partnership, the Avon Foundation has provided nearly $14,000,000 to over 68,000 women from all 50 states.

CancerCare offers free, professional support services for women facing breast cancer, including counseling, support groups, and financial help. Learn more about how we help people affected by breast cancer.

Support groups are available online, over the telephone, or in-person, and all are moderated by CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers.

Online support groups are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and telephone support groups connect people for regularly scheduled, one-hour sessions. Face-to-face support groups are offered at our offices in New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Learn more about CancerCare’s free support groups.

The article’s content is excerpted from CancerCare’s recently updated, three-part CML fact sheet series. The series explores topics such as:

• Finding Emotional Support for Long-Term Illness
• Managing Practical Concerns Raised by CML
• Medical Treatments for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Read the article.

World-renowned experts in treating CML recently answered listeners’ questions during CancerCare’s free Connect Education Workshop, “Living with CML: Current Perspectives on Survivorship.” Listen to a podcast of the workshop.

Learn more about CancerCare’s free, professional support services for people affected by leukemia.

You can listen to this program on the telephone or via live streaming through the internet.  This workshop is the last of the four-part series, The Ninth Annual Cancer Survivorship Series: Living With, Through and Beyond Cancer.

This free series is made possible by support from the National Cancer Institute and LIVESTRONG and offers cancer survivors, their families, friends and health care professionals practical information to help them cope with concerns that arise after treatment ends.  

The faculty for the July 12 program includes:

• Richard Dickens, MSW, Survivor Perspective, Blood Cancers Program Coordinator, Mind/Body/Spirit Project Coordinator, CancerCare
• Merle H. Mishel, RN, PhD, FAAN, Kenan Professor, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• David Spiegel, MD, Jack, Sam and Lulu Willson Professor in the School of Medicine, Associate Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine

This workshop is free – no phone charges apply.  However, pre-registration is required.  To register, and for more information, simply go to the CancerCare website, www.cancercare.org/connect_workshops.

If you missed Parts I, II or III of the series, they are available as podcasts, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 

• Part I: Chemobrain: The Impact of Cancer Treatments on Memory, Thinking and Attention
• Part II: Weight Changes After Cancer Treatments: Why Is It Happening and What Can I Do About It?
• Part III: Stress Management for Caregivers: Taking Care of Yourself Physically and Emotionally

Erin Columbus, LMSW spoke about effectively moderating support groups in an online environment.

Nicole DiMartino, MSW offered solutions for managing and coping with the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis in adolescents.

Richard R. Dickens, LCSW-R spoke about the cancer experience in older adults, and how relaxation and mind/body techniques can help people cope with the emotional and physical challenges of cancer and treatment side effects.

Carolyn Messner, DSW presented on global health issues and how to improve the sharing of knowledge and expertise with colleagues at home and abroad.

Kristy Case, LMSW presented on the importance of post-treatment care for breast cancer survivors.

“For many people, the emotional impact and stress of a cancer diagnosis doesn’t end once they’ve finished with their treatment,” noted Case.  “It’s important for patients and their families to work with their health care team before their treatment ends to ensure that their emotional and practical needs are addressed and to create a smoother transition into post-treatment.”

CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller, LCSW wrote about the importance of post-treatment care in a recent issue of Oncology Nurse Advisor magazine.  Read the article.

Upcoming CancerCare Connect^® Education Workshops will address issues for patients and caregivers following the end of treatment, as part of its 9th Annual Series on Cancer Survivorship, featuring cancer experts from around the country in a live one-hour conference that can be listened to over the telephone or via live stream from CancerCare‘s website.

The next workshop, Stress Management for Caregivers: Taking Care of Yourself Physically and Emotionally, will take place Tuesday, June 14. Pre-registration for these free workshops is required.  To register, and to learn more, visit www.cancercare.org/connect.

CancerCare offers specialized services for post-treatment survivors and their loved ones, including support groups, counseling, and free publications. Learn more.

Michelle has just published her first book, Cancerland and The Other Side of Sick, a quick and inspiring read about the journey from “diagnosis to empowerment.” Michelle has donated copies of the book for free distribution to CancerCare clients as a way of giving back for the help she received from our specialized services for young adults.

Read Michelle’s post below, and check out her book at www.othersideofsick.org. 

Want to be a guest blogger on Copelink? Please email jbarnett@cancercare.org.

**

My Little Red Dictionary

by Michelle Malavet

Living on The Other Side of Sick, my life is full of wonderment. I carry a little red dictionary most everywhere I go. I love words, especially words that rhyme, like “ignite” and “light,”  or “cancer” and “answer.”

Whenever I have a question in my life, my pocket-sized companion offers clarity and distinction. It has provided answers to many questions along my cancer survivor/thriver journey, including, “Why me? Why did I get cancer?”

My little red dictionary defines these words as:

why, adv. for what cause.

me, pron. objective case of I.

get, v., acquire; capture; achieve power over.

cancer, n. potentially unlimited growth that expands.

So whenever you ask, “Why me? Why did I get cancer?” consider that you are actually asking:

“For what cause am I? For what cause did I acquire potentially unlimited growth that expands?” 

These are very powerful questions.

Continually answering them has helped me express who I am as a cancer survivor/thriver. One can say that these questions are my journey.

Everyday, I am on a mission to inspire anyone living with cancer to fully express themselves. That is my “why.” That is my cause.

Today I woke up wondering, “What is a miracle?” What to know the definition in my little red dictionary? Please write to me, and share what you discover: mm@othersideofsick.org.

The series, now in its ninth year, features cancer experts from around the country in a live one-hour conference that can be listened to over the telephone or via live stream from CancerCare‘s website.

The workshops are collaboration of CancerCare and the National Cancer Institute: Office of Cancer Survivorship and Office of Communications and Education, LIVESTRONG, American Cancer Society, Intercultural Cancer Council, Living Beyond Breast Cancer and National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

The Apr. 12 workshop features:

• Lillian M. Nail, PhD, RN, FAAN, Survivor Perspective, Rawlinson Distinguished Professor of Nursing, Senior Scientist, School of Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University
• Tim A. Ahles, PhD, Member, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Director, Neurocognitive Research Laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Patricia A. Ganz, MD, Professor, UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center 

The following three workshops will address topics such as weight changes after treatment, stress management for caregivers, and living with uncertainty about recurrence.

Pre-registration for these free workshops is required.  To register, and to learn more, visit www.cancercare.org/connect.

CancerCare offers specialized services for post-treatment survivors and their loved ones, including support groups, counseling, and free publications. Learn more.