CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller, LCSW writes about the importance of supporting caregivers of people with cancer in the latest issue of Oncology Nurse Advisor. The article provides tips on how oncology nurses can help caregivers of people with cancer receive emotional and practical support.

Read the article.

CancerCare helps anyone affected by cancer, and offers specialized services for caregivers, including online, telephone, and face-to-face support groups—completely free of charge.

Learn more about how we help caregivers of people with cancer.

The United States is the most diverse country in the world, which can present a challenge to the health care professional. Miller’s article offers tips on how oncology nurses can provide the most effective care to each patient, regardless of his or her background, culture, race, ethnicity, and beliefs.

Read the article.

CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers help anyone affected by cancer—completely free of charge.

Learn more about how we help.

But when the melanoma recurred and he began chemotherapy, “the psychological burden of my treatment became too much to bear [and] I simply couldn’t manage,” says Jonah. That’s when he found CancerCare.

“My counselor at CancerCare helped me gather the pieces of my life and start to reassemble them.”

Today, more than three years later, Jonah continues to manage his diagnosis with support from his friends and family, as well as the support he receives from his oncology social worker at CancerCare. His is one of the many inspirational stories we hear from people every day at CancerCare.

“The way I see it, dealing with cancer is like navigating whitewater rapids,” says Ann, another CancerCare client who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma seven years ago. She sought out CancerCare to help deal with her feelings of loneliness and isolation.

“When you have someone to share it with, you’re in a canoe. No matter what it’s like, you face it together. When you do it alone, you’re in a kayak. Yes, your friends may be running along the shore, waving from time to time, but sink or swim, you’re out there on your own.”

Today, Ann serves as a mentor to others who have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma thanks to the support she found through CancerCare.

Read more about our inspiring clients in CancerCare’s “Stories of Help & Hope.”

How has CancerCare helped you better cope with a cancer diagnosis? We’d like to hear from you.

Tell us your story and inspire others. 

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.

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control, noted that these results contradict notions of cancer as an immediate, terminal disease. “For many people with cancer there’s a need for them and their families to realize that this is a stage,” he says. “They can live a long and healthy life.”

One aspect of cancer survivorship that the article does not address, however, is the emotional and financial impact a diagnosis has on survivors. CancerCare has responded to the need for this support by providing free counseling, support groups, and financial help for anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis.

Read the article.

CancerCare’s booklet, “After Treatment Ends: Tools for the Adult Cancer Survivor” provides tips on living with and beyond cancer.

Support groups connect people in similar situations and provide an environment in which they can share their feelings and build a community of support.

CancerCare‘s online support groups enable individual participants to communicate via a password-protected message board that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each support group is active for a 14-week period and each is moderated by a professional oncology social worker, who provides guidance, resources and reliable information to the participants.

CancerCare currently offers 25 different support groups online. Each is targeted to a specific population, such as people undergoing treatment for cancer, cancer survivors, caregivers and the bereaved.  Groups now recruiting include:

• Triple negative breast cancer patients
• Caregivers of loved ones with lung cancer
• Men with cancer
• Young adult caregivers of spouses and partners

 All support groups are completely free of charge, but registration is required.  Learn more.

Michelle has served as caregiver to her parents, both cancer survivors, for the past 11 years. Along with providing physical and practical support, Michelle also supported her parents emotionally after the loss of her uncle from pancreatic cancer. Both Michelle and her mother received free counseling from CancerCare. 

Michelle, an avid runner, recently ran in the New York City Marathon in the guise of superhero CaptainCare, and is slated in run in two more upcoming races. So far, she has raised more than $2,000 in support of our free services. Visit Michelle’s blog for updates on her progress.

Make a donation on Michelle’s Team CancerCare donation page to help her reach her goal of $5,000. You can also add the name of a loved one you’d like Michelle to run for, or post a supportive message.

CancerCare offers a number of free support services for caregivers including individual counseling and support groups. We encourage you to browse our reading room and read about caregiving topics such as:

• How to care for a person who is coping with cancer
• Tips for coping and caregiving during holidays and special occasions
• What you can say to a newly diagnosed loved one

Fighting Cancer inspires patients to feel in control at a time when they may feel powerless. The many topics the book discusses include:

• What cancer is and how it spreads

• How to reconcile emotional needs alongside medical treatment

• Why particular treatment strategies are chosen and how they work

• How patients can visualize treatments at work in the body and why this is helpful

You can order a copy of the book here, or through Amazon.com.

We also encourage you to visit Dr. Frank’s Fighting Cancer blog.

Traditional care has focused mainly on treating cancer as a medical condition in which emotional concerns and issues resulting from the diagnosis are often downplayed or not addressed at all. This is changing, as more and more oncologists and other health care providers acknowledge the integral role of counseling and emotional support for patients, their families, and caregivers.

Oncology social workers provide critical support to patients, notes CancerCare‘s Win Boerckel, who is quoted in the article;  they can “help people normalize the experience of having cancer, so they can answer questions from their children or get to their next chemo appointment.”

Read the article, “Surviving the First 100 Days,” in the debut issue of LIVESTRONG Quarterly , beginning on page 22.

The article, written by CancerCare Director of Women’s Cancers Laura Mosiello, provides great tips such as:

• Ask your friend how she’s coping. Let her know you’re available to listen, but don’t push her to talk if she doesn’t feel like it.

• Offer to help with practical things like household chores or running errands.

• In the event she’s hospitalized, bring her a blanket, comfy slippers, a magazine—anything to make her feel more comfortable.

• Check in regularly throughout treatment and even once it’s over. Emotional side effects can linger long after treatment ends.

Keep in mind, however, that you are not expected to be your friend’s sole source of support. CancerCare provides free support services to anyone affected by cancer.

Check out the full blog post and the complete list of tips here.