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.

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.

Studies show that returning to work may contribute to cancer survivors’ emotional, social, and financial well-being, as it serves as a reminder of life outside of cancer and treatment. Planning your return will help you feel more prepared about your transition back to the workplace.

A few of the tips provided in Messner’s article (co-authored by Jessica Puma) include:

• Talk to your healthcare team about returning to work, discussing the specific type of work you do, your workload, and your work hours.
•  Learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state laws, and human rights law.
•  Rehearse what you plan to say to colleagues when asked how you are feeling. Brief, accurate information is likely to make them more comfortable and help dispel myths about cancer.

Read the full article for more tips.

Messner answered questions related to cancer in the workplace in a past “Ask CancerCare” feature. Visit “Ask CancerCare” to learn more about this topic.

Aside from the physcial concerns, a person newly diagnosed with cancer experiences many, and often conflicting emotions, such as  fear, anxiety and uncertainty about the future.

An interdisciplinary approach by the patient’s healthcare team is key to treating the newly diagnosed person with cancer and should include addressing the patient’s emotional and practical concerns, says Carolyn Messner, DSW, director of education and training for CancerCare, in an interview appearing in the February 2010 edition of  The Oncology Nurse.

“Cancer is a complicated disease, and it requires a team of health professionals to refer back and forth to each other so that we can direct patients to the people who can best help them,” Messner notes.

“Social workers are trained to talk to people systemically about their concerns and issues they confront. Many are employed in the hospital or community center setting. In my own experience, oncology nurses and oncology social workers work very well together. That is the best model [in patient care].” 

CancerCare has a full-time staff of professional oncology social workers who can help a person find effective ways to cope with a cancer diagnosis. Start by visiting the CancerCare website, or call 1-800-813-HOPE (4673).

The stories she shares reveal, in her words, “how difficult it can be to lose your hair as a by-product of saving your own life.” Of course, each patient reacts to treatment-related hair loss in their own personal way, as reader’s comments on the blog illustrate:

“I had chemo last year and loved being bald. My son and I went together to have our heads shaved and our local paper made a video of it,” says one woman. Another writes, “I lost my hair twice due to different treatment regimens and each time there were emotions associated that I did not expect.”

CancerCare social workers offer the following tips to individuals coping with hair loss:

• Buy a wig before all of your hair falls out. This way, you will have a good match to your own hair color.
• Get a professional fitting. There are full-service wig salons that fit and style wigs.
• Find out if your health insurance company covers the cost of wigs. If so, remember to save your receipt.

For additional tips, read CancerCare‘s fact sheet, “Tips for Managing Hair Loss.”

One commentator to the “Well” blog offers the following helpful advice to parents with cancer who are contemplating going bald:

“Parents with school aged children should talk to their kids and set expectations with them. Our kids were fine with their Mom being bald AT HOME, but when she was at school they requested that she wear a wig so she would look normal.”

Do you have some tips of your own? We invite you to share them with our readers by leaving a comment on this page.

Continued developments in targeted therapy are leading more oncology researchers to investigate personalized treatments for lung cancer. It’s important to note that lung cancer was one of the first cancers in which targeted therapy was found to help a segment of people dealing with late-stage lung cancer. Today’s newer targeted therapies offer the promise of improved treatment outcomes for many more types of lung cancer. For more information, read CancerCare‘s free publications,  A New Class of Drugs: Targeted Treatments for Cancer, Progress in the Treatment of Lung Cancer, and Your Guide to the Latest Cancer Research and Treatments (Lung Cancer).

Unfortunately, people coping with lung cancer are still saddled with a significant emotional burden arising from the stigma of the diagnosis, which can have a negative impact on the views of even the professionals themselves who treat lung cancer patients. The stigma also exacerbates emotional stress among family members of the lung cancer patient, especially when that person has a smoking history. And, patients themselves often react with guilt and shame to their lung cancer diagnosis which may interfere with their doing all they can to comply with their treatment. 

A great deal of work needs to be done to address the social stigma of lung cancer so that the diagnosis, like all other cancers, can finally be acknowledged as a “no fault” medical event for patients. Because the simple fact is, no one deserves lung cancer.

Learn more about CancerCare‘s free, professional support services for lung cancer patients and their loved ones.

Participants in the program stand to benefit not just themselves, but also future cancer survivors, as the program is being evaluated for its effectiveness in teaching skills needed for day-to-day management of life after cancer.

Cancer survivors anywhere in the United States, with any level of computer experience, can sign up for this study at the Thriving and Surviving website.

CancerCare offers free individual counseling and support groups for people with cancer, and all services are provided by professional oncology social workers. These services are available in person, over the phone and online.