Tools & Support

Dealing with the emotional and practical aspects of cancer can be as challenging as going through the treatments. The tools on this page will help you address some of life's everyday issues that may seem overwhelming. The organizations who publish these resources have toll-free hotlines and many have local support groups.

Getting Started - Finding Help

• National Organizations That Offer Services to People With Cancer and Their Families
• Get HELP - A Helping Hand Resource Guide - CancerCare
• TIPS for Finding HELP - CancerCare
• How To Find Resources in Your Own Community If You Have Cancer - National Cancer Institute
• ResourceLink Guidebook - Young Survival Coalition
  This Guidebook is 164 pages filled with valuable resources for women at all stages of diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship. It is the portal to numerous local, statewide, and national assistance resources, as well as more than 450 breast cancer support groups

Information About Living with Advanced/Metastatic Breast Cancer

• CancerCare Reading Room - CancerCare
  A place to go for all your cancer questions — whether they are medical, practical, or emotional. Everything is free, easy to understand, and helpful. The Reading Room includes practical help, emotional support, medical concerns, special programs, stories of help and hope, and "Ask CancerCare" — a place to submit questions and get answers
• Living with Advanced and Metastatic Breast Cancer - Breast Cancer Network of Strength
• The Patient Active Guide to Living with Advanced Breast Cancer - The Wellness Community
  Being diagnosed with advanced (metastatic) breast cancer can bring up many different emotions. There are many new treatments to consider, side effects to manage as well as support, emotional, and practical needs to address as you try to maintain the best quality of life. The Wellness Community offers support, education, and hope to women newly diagnosed and living with advanced breast cancer with this new program, The Patient Active Guide to Living With Advanced Breast Cancer. The information on these pages will empower you to be Patient Active in your cancer journey, helping you feel less isolated, more in control, and more hopeful about the future.
• Support for Women Living with Brain Metastasis - BrainMetsBC.org

Online Support

• Join our AdvancedBreastCancerCommunity.org Support Community
  The only online community focused exclusively on advanced and metastatic breast cancer. Registration required.
• online Support Groups - CancerCare
  Online support groups can be accessed whenever you need them, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week facilitated by a professional oncology social worker
• Join a Wellness Community online Support Group - The Wellness Community
  A facilitated private online support group — registration is required.
• online support for those dealing with Brain Metastasis - BrainMetsBC.org
• Share your thoughts online - Susan G. Komen for the Cure
  Discussion forums are set up by topic. You are welcome to contribute or just read what others have written.
• Message Boards - Breast Cancer Network of Strength
  Discussion forums are set up by topic. You are welcome to contribute or just read what others have written.
• E-mail YourShoes - Breast Cancer Network of Strength
• Network of Strength office on Second Life - Breast Cancer Network of Strength
  Network of Strength has built a virtual office in Second Life to take peer support to new heights. Now, no matter where you live, you can log onto Second Life and talk with others who have walked in your shoes.
• Message Boards - Living Beyond Breast Cancer
• Chat Rooms - Breastcancer.org
  Provides a safe place where people from around the world can meet, talk, and share information and support with one another 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Registration required.

Hotlines and Matching Programs

• Breast Cancer Network of Strength
  • YourShoes 24/7 Breast Cancer Support Center
    YourShoes has the country's only 24/7 toll-free hotline staffed exclusively by trained peer counselors who are breast cancer survivors.
  • Survivor Match Program
    Request to be paired with a peer counselor at the Breast Cancer Network of Strength who had the same diagnosis, is the same age, or has experienced similar challenges as you. The confidential, free-of-charge service is available to anyone who calls the hotline.
  • Partners Match Program
    The program provides support and education for people while they are supporting a wife or partner through the disease.
• SHARE Hotlines - Self Help for Women with Breast and Ovarian Cancer
  SHARE: Self-help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer was the country's first peer-led breast cancer organization.
  • SHARE's toll-free hotline in English and Spanish provides peer support seven days and evenings a week for both breast and ovarian cancer.
  • SHARE's trained breast hotline volunteers have had early stage breast cancer and/or are living with metastatic breast cancer.
  • SHARE's matching program connects callers with volunteers, metastatic or early stage, who have had a similar diagnosis, life circumstance or challenge.
  • All SHARE services are free of charge.
  SHARE's hotline volunteers are survivors of breast or ovarian cancer. When you speak with a hotline volunteer, you will be talking with someone who has "been there," and who can offer support and understanding as well as information and resources. We may also be able to match you with a peer, someone similar to you in age, life circumstances, cancer experiences, or location.
• Helpline - Susan G. Komen for the Cure
  A resource for any and all things relating to breast health, breast cancer, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Counseling

• CancerCare Counseling - CancerCare
  You can speak with professional oncology social workers about your individual concerns. They offer individual counseling both face-to-face and by phone.They also offer many different types of patient and caregiver support groups (face-to-face, online, and telephone).

In Person Support Groups

• Support Groups - SHARE
  Peer support groups bring together people who are grappling with the common concerns and challenges of breast or ovarian cancer. Facilitated by trained volunteers who have shared a similar experience, these groups provide an environment where people can share information, experiences, coping strategies, and feelings.
• Face-to-Face Support Groups - CancerCare
• In person Support for those dealing with Brain Mets - BrainMetsBC.org
• Find a face-to-face support group in your community - The Wellness Community

Telephone Workshops

• Telephone Education Workshops - CancerCare
  Free Telephone Educational Workshops can help you and your loved ones understand your diagnosis, treatment options, quality-of-life concerns, and other important topics. The workshops are free one-hour conference calls presented by cancer experts from around the country. Telephone Education Workshops are an easy way for you to learn about cancer-related issues from the convenience of your home or office.
• ShareRing Network - Breast Cancer Network of Strength
  A free, monthly one-hour teleconference featuring a breast cancer related presentation by a medical professional followed by a question and answer session. Participants are divided into optional small groups for moderated discussion. Teleconferences take place the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM Central Time (CT). Recordings, transcripts and podcasts of past calls are available.
• Ask the Expert online Conferences - Breastcancer.org
  Each month, you can connect with information, experts and each other during Breastcancer.org's Ask-the-Expert Online Conferences. Conferences are typically held on the third Wednesday of the month from 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET.
• Telephone Support Group for Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer - SHARE
  Self-help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer. To register for a support group, please call the SHARE Hotline: 866-891-2392.

Financial and Insurance Issues

• Getting and Keeping Health Insurance - National Cancer Institute
• Financial Assistance and Other Resources for People With Cancer - National Cancer Institute
• Patient Advocate Foundation
  A national nonprofit organization that seeks to safeguard patients by assuring access to care, maintenance of employment, and preservation of their financial stability relative to their diagnosis of life threatening or debilitating diseases.
• Co-Pay Relief for Eligible Cancer Patients - Susan G. Komen for the Cure
• Financial Issues Related to Breast Cancer Care - Susan G. Komen for the Cure
  Provides an overview of the financial issues that someone with breast cancer might face and also provides a list of resources for financial assistance and advice.
• CancerCare Assist - CancerCare
  Provide limited grants for certain expenses related to treatment. Their financial assistance program is one of the longest running and best regarded in the country.
• American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
  Provides detailed information on a range of health issues for people over 50, including Medicare and other health insurance programs.
• American Cancer Society
  Offers "Road to Recovery,"a program providing people diagnosed with cancer with transportation to treatments. Also offers "Taking Charge of Money Matters," a financial workshop for those with cancer.
• Angel Flight America
  Provides air transportation to treatment centers.
• The Association of Community Cancer Centers
  Publishes "Cancer Treatments Your Insurance Should Cover."
• Breast Cancer Network of Strength
  Provides wigs, prostheses, and mastectomy bras for women with limited financial resources.
• CancerCare
  Offers financial assistance for diagnostic work-up, transportation to and from treatment and childcare for when a parent is having tests or treatment. Also a good resource for finding out about specific drug assistance programs.
• CancerCare Linking A.R.M.S. (TM)
  Offers qualified low-income, under-insured, or uninsured people diagnosed with breast cancer financial assistance grants to cover the costs of oral chemotherapy and hormonal therapy medications, pain and anti-nausea medication, lymphedema supplies, and durable medical equipment through a partnership between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and CancerCare.
• Corporate Angel Network
  Provides air transportation to treatment centers.
• Directory of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Patient Assistance Programs
  Provides information on how to find pharmaceutical manufacturer assistance programs.
• National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
  Publishes booklets called "Working It Out: Your Employment Rights as a Cancer Survivor," "What Cancer Survivors Need to Know About Health Insurance," and "A Cancer Survivor's Almanac: Charting Your Journey."
• National Patient Air Travel HELPLINE
  Provides air transportation to treatment centers.
• NeedyMeds.com
  Provides information on how to find pharmaceutical manufacturer assistance programs.

Young Women with Breast Cancer

• Monthly Telephone Networking Sessions - Young Survival Coalition
  Each month the YSC offers free telephone networking sessions for young women living with metastasis — it brings women together so that they may share experiences and support each other and to talk with others who are going through similar experiences e.g. raising children, managing careers and school, and relationship issues. The calls take place monthly, from 8:00 - 9:30 p.m., EST. For more information contact YWABC@YoungSurvival.org or call 877-YSC-1011.
• The Beautiful 8: Learning to Live with Advanced Breast Cancer - Young Survival Coalition
  The YSC's newest educational DVD presents an intimate discussion among eight young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Join them on this journey filled with hope, fear, laughter, anxiety, and determination to live life to the fullest. I don't know if the portal will having streaming capability but the DVD is free and can be ordered online or by calling 877-YSC-1011.

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