I Try to Find a Breast Cancer Support Group

It’s no wonder I’ve never heard of a breast cancer support group in my town: Apparently, there isn’t one, at least not one I can find after two days of on-line research and local phoning. “It’s hard to get the word out,” was the phrase I heard from everyone who actually knew of one, and those people were not easy to find.

1) I started online, searching Google and several breast cancer for “breast cancer support groups”, but I couldn’t find links that led to local real people and I often got stuck in the link layers. I did find Gilda’s Club breast cancer support groups and national and international breast cancer dragon boat racing crews (see also my post on dragon boat racing) , but none of those is near me. So picked up the phone book and went local.

2) First, I called my breast cancer surgeon’s office (an oncologist’s office would also have worked), which refers all inquiring patients to the Reach for Recovery program, one-on-one support offered to breast cancer patients by the local office of the American Cancer Society—find yours here or call 1-800-ACS-2345. When I called mine, a real person answered right off and said she could match me up with a breast cancer survivor volunteer who would either call or visit me, whichever worked best for me. I didn’t need that right now, but I wish I’d known about it two years ago, when I was mid-shock. Did no one tell me? Did I not ask? Was I told and it didn’t register?

3) Oddly, neither my surgeon’s office nor the American Cancer Society office knew of any breast cancer support group in my Tri-City area (a population my real estate appraiser friends estimate at half a million), so I started calling hospital oncology departments. The main medical facility in my town—Bay City—knew of nothing, but one of the several hospitals in Saginaw, the largest of the three towns, sponsors a group that meets monthly, and the hospital in Midland, the smallest town, referred me to the following locally funded cancer group.

4) When I called the Midland Community Cancer Services—a locally funded (partly by the United Way) group active since 1948—I found not only a breast cancer support group that meets monthly, with scheduled topics and speakers, but also a one-on-one program similar to the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery program.

It had taken the better part of two days, and although I hadn't found a breast cancer support group in my town, I’d discovered two national programs, three one-on-one programs (including an online program that HealthCentral.com features, called Y-Me), and two support groups available in towns nearby. I did not stumble onto any groups like PJ Hamel’s, which, with her enviable gumption, she started herself. If I wanted something like that, I’d probably have to do it myself.

For now, I'm hoping that readers will share their support group experiences and suggestions. How did you find one? If you started one, how did you find people? Let's “get the word out!”