Cancer Support Groups

In a time of crisis such as a cancer diagnosis people naturally turn to one another for support. That support can take many forms. There are many types of support groups to meet individual needs when diagnosed with cancer. A support group is any collection of people who have similar needs that need addressing.

There are 5 types of support groups that need to be explained so you can make you choice of which one suits you in your area.

1. Self help support groups are groups facilitated by people who have had personal experience with cancer, e.g. patient, family, carer. These groups are often focused on emotional support, sharing of experiences, coping strategies and education.

2. Professionally led support groups have facilitators who are health professionals e.g. nurses, social workers, psychologists, doctors. These groups focus on general support and on education, e.g. the Living with Cancer Education Support Group, an 8 week structured program.

3 Open ended support groups meet regularly but are not limited and members can come and go as they feel.

4. Psychotherapeutic support groups are also run by trained professionals. Their purpose is group counselling, rather than mutual support or education.

5. Closed support groups are time limited, have specific goals and do not accept new members after the first meeting (Cancer Council NSW Cancer Support Group Resource Kit)

Support groups are very individual, based on your needs at a certain time of life. Support groups do have measurable benefits for their members,including helping to lower anxiety, reduce isolation and increasethe number of strategies people use for coping with cancer and its side effects

(The Cancer Council NSW ).

The positive impacts of support groups are that they:

Provide a sense of belonging and normalise experience and response
Provide hope, honest feedback and vicarious learning,
are a safe site for feelings, thoughts and change, and
facilitate learning and information gathering.