Q. I'd like to connect with other women who have cervical cancer. I feel like they'll understand me best. Can you tell me where I should look?
Support groups are a wonderful opportunity to speak with other women diagnosed with cervical cancer. Joining a group can provide a safe environment to share thoughts, ideas and feelings with others in a similar circumstance, and members in a support group often feel less isolated during their cancer experience. Support groups may be available face-to-face, over the telephone, or online.
CancerCare offers a free, private online support group for individuals in treatment for gynecologic cancer. This message-board style group is moderated by an oncology social worker, and is available 24/7 during the group cycle.
For individuals you have completed treatment for any diagnosis, you can consider our post-treatment online support group.
If you have a social worker at your hospital or treatment center, they are often very knowledgeable about any face-to-face groups in your local area. Often, treatment centers run their own support groups that may either be focused on a specific diagnosis or may be more mixed in composition. You can also consider “peer matching”, a service in which you would be connected to another individual who has undergone similar treatment for cervical cancer so that you can have one-on-one phone conversations. Two organizations providing this service include Cancer Hope Network and Imerman Angels.