WOMEN of HOPE breast cancer support groups help breast cancer patients and their care givers in all stages of breast cancer. Our focus is on coping with diagnosis, treatment and enjoying life after cancer. Bring your family and friends to our free monthly support group meetings. Learn from guest speakers who are doctors, nurses and cancer survivors. Come and meet people who have been cancer survivors for many years.

A noted researcher did a ten year study on the effect that participation in support groups like "WOMEN of HOPE" had on cancer patients:

• When compared to people who were not in groups, the people who participated in the support groups "showed significantly lower depression, fatigue, confusion and total mood disturbance as well as higher vigor."
  
  
• The study showed that support groups had a beneficial effect on length of life for cancer patients who participated.

How Support Groups Can Help

Your doctor or another health care professional may recommend a support group. Both you and those close to you may find one or more support groups helpful as you go forward with your treatment and your life. Some people who attend support groups say they feel happier, healthier, and/or stronger when they have regular contact within a group with people experiencing (directly or indirectly) the same type of cancer. Others say that the group makes it easier for them to deal with health problems and the difficulties they can cause.

But perhaps the key benefit of a support group is the common bond, a sharing of feelings and experiences that takes place:

• It can help reduce stress and negative feelings like fear and anxiety
• It may help promote healing
• Overall, it can help improve quality of life for people dealing with having cancer

Support groups can provide a number of types of help: education, behavioral training such as meditation and muscle relaxation, and, of course, group interaction. They also vary by format - some may be scheduled to run for a period of weeks or months and then stop, while others are ongoing. You may also find support groups focused on either a single type of cancer or a single type of cancer treatment. And then there are groups for family members and caregivers of people with cancer. Whatever the topic, the group leader - who may be a cancer survivor, a group member, or a trained professional -- helps members stay focused. (A support group is different from group therapy, which is always led by a licensed professional.)

Some one-on-one programs also offer support. These programs match you with a person similar to you - for example, in age, gender, or type of cancer - for mutual support by phone or during visits.

Please feel free to download our  Support Group Schedule.  Visit our online calendar, as meetings may change after publication.

Support group meetings, unless otherwise indicated, are free and convene the 2nd Tuesday of each month at:  
Frazer United Methodist Church, 6000 Atlanta Highway • Room 8114, Montgomery, Alabama