Cancer Support: Find the right cancer community for you

Neethu Sheri Kurian

Content Specialist
4baseCare

Social withdrawal of cancer patients from society, friends and family is one of the main concern. The cancer support communities help cancer patients by offering them companions who are in same situation and direct the path on which they learn to fight with cancer. It provides emotional support and inspiration during this challenging time. Research also shows that joining a cancer support group or community improves both quality of life and survival rate in cancer patients. Everyone’s cancer is unique and their cancer community too.

Online cancer communities provide platform for a cancer patient to meet through chat rooms, listservs, webinars, and social media (WhatsApp, Twitter or Facebook). Cancer patients regularly like these online cancer communities because they can take part at any time of the day or night. It is also good for patients who can’t travel to meetings, or live in rural areas.

Before joining of any cancer community service, cancer patients should make themselves comfortable for talking about personal issues. Also, they can evaluate purpose of joining these groups like what they hope to gain. These cancer communities may not be right for patients who don’t like to hear the pain and problems of other cancer patients. Before choosing any cancer community, patients should visit few and see which one is suitable for them. Some cancer support groups are free while others charge a small fee.

Cancer patients should select and pick an appropriate cancer community which empowers them and should not increase their anxiety due to unmoderated discussions (online chatrooms which are not monitored for their contents) and medically incorrect information. For joining the cancer support groups or communities, patient should reach out to social workers, other cancer patients who are already part of any community, search online or go to National Cancer Institute database organizations that offer cancer support services.

Online cancer community

Online cancer communities offer several benefits to cancer patients, such as :

1. Making it easier to stay in touch with family and friends.
2. Connecting cancer patient with other patient who are in a similar situation.
3. Easy to help people no matter where they live.
4. People who don’t like face-to-face groups have cancer community to connect with cancer patients.
5. Help cancer patients to feel better, more hopeful, and not so alone.
6. Provide chance to talk about their feelings and work with other member of cancer community.
7. Help cancer patients to cope with side effects of treatment.

OncoBuddy

OncoBuddy is a digital healthcare platform that provides a comprehensive solution to cancer care enabling patients in their fight against cancer. The platform creates a patient-centric ecosystem to connect, create awareness, & empower people who are affected by different cancer types.

OncoBuddy supports cancer patients and caregivers to partner more closely with their clinicians, access their medical records, and avail complimentary allied services (Psychology, Genetic Counseling, Nutrition, and Palliative care) for cancer patients.

With the OncoBuddy app, cancer patients and caregivers can now avail features like :

1. OncoConnect – Cancer Community to Share and Learn.
2. OncoIntellect – AI-Powered Medical Record Management.
3. OncoConsult – Virtual Consultation with Treating Oncologist.
4. OncoExpert – Connect with Allied Health Professionals

OncoConnect – Cancer Community to Share and Learn

Given the distress and emotional uncertainty accompanying a cancer diagnosis, Cancer care community support groups can significantly help cancer patients. OncoBuddy provides you with a virtual social support system that transforms into a cancer care community helping you to communicate with experts, acquire knowledge , and provide support throughout your cancer journey. This will facilitate you to cope with difficulties encountered during treatments.

The cancer care community platform will enable Cancer Patients/Caregivers to :

1. Get answers to all your questions and concerns from clinical experts.
2. Learn from other cancer patients’ experiences and help others by sharing your story.
3. Get access to curated, validated, and structured information on cancer care.

Onco.com

This is a website which offers a cancer community and open to any cancer patients. The main advantage of this community is that they provide free consultation with doctors. However, it is always advisable to cross-check the suggestions from your routine doctors before implementing.

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and live events are some sources which can be used by the cancer patients for interaction with other cancer patients, caregivers and survivors.

Telephonic cancer community

Telephonic cancer communities (such as 4th Angel Mentoring Program) act as a conference call where everyone dials in to a phone line that is linked together. Across the countries, cancer patients can connect with one another for sharing their feelings and experience. These kind of telephonic calls are usually little or no chargeable.

Connect with listening circle

Cancer patients can join online listening circle such as “Talk Your Heart Out” which provide a private space for sharing their thoughts confidentially. This listening circle invites cancer patients, caregivers and survivors to share their thoughts and doubts within a closed group, either virtually or physically in any cancer related events.

Connect with Cancer Survivors

If cancer patients want to connect one-to-one with a cancer survivor, then they can join the ‘Talk to a Cancer Survivor’ program which connects cancer patients with a cancer survivor who will listen cancer’s patient concerns, can show plenty of sympathy, and occasional straight talk. Cancer survivors share their own experience that how they fight with this life threatening disease and won their life. By doing this they want to make cancer patients mentally and emotionally strong.

Available cancer support communities

Inspire , MyLeukemiaTeam , MyLifeLine.org , Lotsa Helping Hands, CancerCare , Cancer Connect, CaringBridge, Know Cancer , Smart Patients, Navigating Cancer , Friend for Life Cancer Support Network.

REFERENCES :

1. Coping – Cancer Support Groups – NCI
2. Cancer Support : Find The Right Community For You | Onco.com