Apr 1

Apr 1 7 Ways to Get Support When You’re Newly Diagnosed With Cancer—Besides Support Groups

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I tried to find a support group. For several reasons, I never found one I liked, but I then realized that I already had the support I needed in a handful of young women cancer survivors I regularly reached out to—my unofficial cancer mentors.

In my last post, I wrote about how to find (or be) a cancer mentor in the organic, informal way that I went about it. But, if you want to find—or be—a cancer mentor and aren’t having any luck connecting with someone else on your own, or, if you want to be part of a more structured program, there are several options for getting—or giving—support that aren’t support groups.

So, if support groups aren’t for you (I could, and probably will, write a whole separate post on this topic), here are some other places you could turn.

Peer One-on-One Support:
1) Imerman Angels: This organization’s mission is to provide “comfort and understanding for all cancer fighters, survivors, previvors, and caregivers through a personalized, one-on-one connection with someone who has been there.” This free service pairs people of any age, gender, location, and cancer type seeking support with a “Mentor Angel” who’s been screened and trained. Their website notes that their services are accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities, and that they will work with individuals to accommodate any special needs they may have, such as speaking or hearing impairments, for example.

2) Sharsheret’s Peer Support Network: Sharsheret is a nonprofit organization that offers free support services and resources for women with breast and ovarian cancers and the genetic predispositions to them. Their peer-to-peer program “connects women newly diagnosed or at high risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer one-on-one with others who share similar diagnoses and experiences.”

3) Young Survival Coalition’s SurvivorLink Peer Support: This organization provides support and resources for young women with breast cancer, and their peer support program offers several alternatives: You can sign up to receive a mentor, to be a mentor, or to be paired with a “co-survivor” for a mentorship match. Mentors are volunteers who’ve received training.

4) Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA)’s Woman to Woman Peer Support: OCRA’s Woman to Woman (W2W) program “pairs gynecologic cancer patients with trained volunteer mentors who provide one-on-one emotional support and mentoring.” OCRA’s website lists in-person mentorship at site-specific locations across the US, as well as the option to sign-up for a mentor you can connect with virtually, regardless of location.

5) SHARE Cancer Support’s Helplines: This isn’t exactly a mentorship program but this is something I personally did when I was newly diagnosed (I don’t have personal experience with any of the other services in this post other than this one and CancerCare). SHARE, which provides support and resources to those affected by breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer, has three different helplines—one for ovarian cancer, one for breast cancer, and one for uterine cancer. The helplines are staffed by volunteer survivors (and also caregivers, if that applies to you) who can “answer your questions, talk with you about treatments, [and] help you sort through your options and make informed decisions.” They can “connect you with a peer whose situation is similar to yours, or just listen.” While in my case this wasn’t an ongoing relationship, I did call their ovarian cancer helpline when I was newly diagnosed and had a very long and informative conversation with an ovarian cancer survivor. You can call one of their cancer-specific helplines linked above, email them at helpline@sharecancersupport.org, or fill out a form on their website to get started.

Professional One-on-One Support:
These two options are one-on-one alternatives to support groups where the support is provided by a licensed professional rather than a peer.

6) The Clearity Foundation’s Steps Through OC: This six-month program provides “free professional counseling in tandem with education, referrals, and other resources for any woman facing ovarian cancer,” with the goal of supporting their physical and emotional health. This comprehensive, virtual support program is available to women anywhere along the continuum of an ovarian cancer diagnosis, whether they be newly diagnosed, in treatment, or in remission. (Steps Through OC is also available to family members and active caregivers of women with ovarian cancer.) To register, you can fill out this form, call 866-830-5134, or email counselor@stepsthrough.org.

7) CancerCare’s Counseling Services: In addition to support groups, cancer support org CancerCare also offers free one-on-one, short-term, cancer-focused therapy with a licensed oncology social worker for cancer patients and survivors who are residents of New York and New Jersey. (They also offer this service for those who haven’t been diagnosed with cancer but are directly affected by cancer in a loved one: caregivers, the newly bereaved, and children as young as five.) Prior to the pandemic this counseling was available in person, but since COVID hit it’s been solely done virtually via phone and video chat for the time being. I personally used this counseling service to help me with the transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor post-treatment and it was excellent; it could also be very helpful to someone who’s newly diagnosed and/or in treatment. Call 800-813-HOPE (4673) or email info@cancercare.org to begin the process, which starts with an in-depth phone assessment prior to being placed with a counselor.

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All the support services I’ve highlighted here are free. Cancer information website OncoLink has compiled a long list of peer cancer support programs that are both general to all cancer types, and specific to various cancer types including lung, colorectal, pancreatic, and more. Visit their website to find more cancer peer support programs.