I need your help!

I did attend a Support Group which was sponsored by a Hospital and had an RN as the Coordinator.   I will never forget the first meeting...a young man was there who had been diagnosed with Brain Cancer about 6 or 7 years previous... (this was in 2002) and they had only given him 6 months to live at that time.   He said it made him MAD....so he went looking for cutting edge stuff and found the Gamma Knife experiments ....he was the 3rd person in the nation to have the Gamma Knife Laser Surgery........and he had just dropped by that meeting to let us know he was still alive.   He said that he no longer made long term plans and that he LIVED each day fully.    That Support Group was a good place to talk with others who knew what you were dealing with....most were facing Cancer but some were Care Givers also.    It was helpful to me then and I wish they still had it but the Hospital stopped supporting it with the free room for the meeting and the RN.  I do know that there are many support groups around...a lot of them in churches.  They are better than this online board because you have the instant feedback and the personal contact.  However this is a good thing here and I wish more people knew about it.

camul said:

I go to a support group
We have all kinds of cwncer and there are all stages. It is not a pity party at all. It is a group through the Cancer awellness Center. We have interns who sit in each week, and we pretty much facitate each other. There have been a couple of people over the last 3 years who were on a pity trip, but that did not go over well with those of us who are stage iv and doing everything in our power to be here another day, week, month whatever.
I go about 2x a month. We have a potluck on the 4th wed of each month.
I think the attendance is pretty regular8-12, sometimes more, becausr it is for the most part positive. Everyone has a chance to speak if they want or need to. We have lost some, which we all know is hard.
The strongest factor in having a turnout is in accepting all stages, and sharing info on new treatments, meds, wr laugh a lot, have gotten together and gone on trips to hot springs, walks at lakes, and fishing.
So: I would list:
Welcoming all stages
being consistant
making new people feel welcome
Humor
getting the word out to others we meet with cancer that the group is here.

I went to a support group when I first was diagnosed, only to find out the group had not really got off the ground. I was the only one attending at the time. It would have been great if I wanted to have the RN all to myself but I was looking for more. I wanted to hear from others on the journey. I really wanted to know everything from all stages of cancer, as we never plan for it to happen but I wanted to know as much as possible.

I was very blessed to find this group in 2011. It saved the little sanity I had left at that time, because of the what if’s going on within me, and not to forget many sleepiness nights.  I’ve seen us hold each other up when no one else can understand what is going on within us. I’ve seen all kinds of words on this site, but I know some make us take a step back, and ask..what were they thinking, we all know because we have been there or close to the edge.

I really love the list given, especially the humor- Lord knows if you don’t find a way to laugh with this, you just might give up. Yes, We Are Here- No matter what the day may hold for each of us.

Warmly,

Constance