Cancer Self-Help Groups A Guide

Introduction In 2000, more than 1,221,800 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Along with the diagnosis, people often experience feelings of fear and loneliness. Many people with cancer have found caring, support, and information from self-help groups for cancer patients and survivors, and have learned how to change the loneliness and fear of their diagnosis into a journey of hope and healing. A measure of the success of cancer self-help groups is their ever-increasing numbers. In the eighties, the United States had few cancer self-help groups. Today, there are thousands of established groups across the country. The beauty of a support group is that you don't have to explain anything. Many people with cancer try to shield family and friends from what they're going through. Sometimes they hide how scared or angry they feel. In a support group, you don't have to protect anyone. They're there to support you. Creating and maintaining an effective group is not always easy. This manual -- written by and for cancer patients, in collaboration with researchers and other experts -- outlines some of the strategies cancer survivors have discovered and the skills they have developed to meet the challenges of forming and working with their own support groups.The manual builds upon the lessons learned from cancer patients who have started groups and participated as group members, and their stories have been included to help illustrate points in the text. The Purpose of this manual The purpose of this manual is to offer encouragement and ideas to: people who want to start a cancer self-help group; people who are members of an established group; people who are thinking about facilitating a group; people who are struggling with problems in cancer groups. There are high expectations placed upon self-help groups to deliver services in a timely and effective manner -- a task that requires an understanding of group skills. At the same time, groups need to be able to stay in touch with their simple, grass-roots nature. This manual uses the expertise of cancer patients, survivors, and researchers to teach the group skills that will be appropriate to the unique needs of people with cancer.Right from the start, it is important to understand the basic nature of self-help work. Helping is not done for others. It is done with others, for ourselves, recognizing that helping others creates meaning in our own lives. Simply put, self-help is a way to help both ourselves and others by paying attention to the suffering caused by cancer. When we see our own fear reflected in the eyes of someone who has just been diagnosed, we remember how important it was for us not just to learn more about cancer and its treatments but also to find someone to talk to about it. When we see relief and hope begin to strengthen that person again, we are rewarded. That is the spirit of self-help: helping others helps us. All of us are interdependent. Whether we realize it or not, each of us lives eternally in the red. Martin Luther King, Jr. Here are some initial "words of wisdom" for anyone who is starting or helping out with a cancer self-help group: Think "share" from the beginning and reach out to others who share your vision. Take risks and be forgiving of your own mistakes and those of others. Remember that the most important gift we can bring is the quality of our attention. Last but not least, remember that there is no one right way to do this, This manual is intended to be a guide, not a book of rules, You are not expected to do everything the way it is described here. Take what you need and leave the rest, You can come back when and if you need something else.Kelly, Pat is the author of 'Cancer Self-Help Groups A Guide' with ISBN 9781552094785 and ISBN 1552094782.