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September 26, 2011

When you are first diagnosed with cancer, the shock can feel like a weight pulling you down. Having the support of your doctors and family can make the treatment and recovery process significantly lighter, but sometimes you want to be with another who understands exactly what you are going through. It is important to find a support group where you feel at home. Knowing you are supported by a group of people in a similar situation can lessen the burden of surviving the disease.

The Survivors Club has searched the Web and presented some of the leading organizations that are founded on the premise of helping cancer survivors connect with others who have also had a similar experience.

• Cancer Support Community: A Global Network of Education and Hope
  This support resource for cancer survivors of all types and stages is an international non-profit dedicated to providing support, education and hope to people affected by cancer. The website offers you step-by-step information for coming to terms with your diagnosis and learning more about your particular cancer. The site also offers resources to aid in the process of care-giving for a loved one with cancer.
  You are offered the opportunity to join the online community and receive support remotely or you can find a support group in your local neighborhood.
• Cancer Hope Network
  This cancer support network is a not-for-profit organization that provides free and confidential one-on-one support to cancer patients and/or their family members. To provide support to cancer patients, Cancer Hope Network uses a sophisticated matching system to connect current cancer patients with a trained volunteer who has survived a similar cancer and treatment process. Through the interaction, the current cancer patient and family members are encouraged to look beyond the immediate diagnosis of cancer, cope with treatment, and know there is life after a diagnosis of cancer.
  There is a three step process to find a support volunteer match. If you decide to accept the match offered by the Cancer Hope Network, the volunteer, who was diagnosed and treated for cancer and now uses that experience to help others, will contact you by phone ready to discuss issues related to your cancer diagnosis and treatment. Your conversations with the volunteer will be timed to support you throughout your cancer treatment process.
• American Cancer Society
  Besides offering services to help people prevent getting cancer and furthering cancer-cure research, the American Cancer Society offers resources for you to get through the toughest stages of the cancer treatment process. ACS offers a section of their services to help you find support and treatment options. You can search for local cancer support groups in your area and be connected with professionals, volunteers and others who are going through a similar situation as you.
• WhatNext: A Cancer Support Network of Peers and Organizations
  With WhatNext you can connect with peers, information and resources specific to you. You are offered the option to share details about your cancer (anonymous or not) and WhatNext will automatically connect you with others who have gone through a similar journey.
  Once you set up a profile on the website, you can ask quetions to the entire online community and get answers from people who have gone through the same thing as you.

Becoming a cancer survivor is an amazing feat and automatically inducts you into an illustrious club of people guided by faith, love and strength: The Survivors Club. On TSC you can share your story and also share your thoughts in TSC's online forums.

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