Finding Your Community

​A cancer diagnosis changes a lot of things. One of the biggest shifts is often the hardest to explain. It's the feeling that no one around you quite understands what you're going through.

​A cancer diagnosis changes a lot of things. One of the biggest shifts is often the hardest to explain. It's the feeling that no one around you quite understands what you're going through. Family and friends want to help, but there's a difference between someone who loves you and someone who has actually sat in the chair next to you during treatment. That's where support groups come in.

 

Why It Matters

Talking to someone who has been through cancer treatment, or is going through it right now, is different from any other kind of support. That's what support groups offer. There's no need to explain what a scan feels like, or what it's like to wait on results, or how exhausting treatment days can be. Those in a support group already know. That shared understanding takes a weight off conversations that can otherwise feel hard to have with anyone else.

For our patients, connecting with others also gives a place to ask questions they might not think to ask their care team, or ask questions differently. Someone who has already gone through a treatment can offer perspective a doctor or nurse can't. What it actually felt like day to day, what helped them get through it, what they wish they'd known earlier.

 

More Groups Than You Think

Cancer has an impact that goes beyond the physical aspect and places a serious strain on mental health as well. At OCSRI, there are a variety of support groups available, these being tailored to particular needs and diagnoses. The Hope & Healing program was designed with this in mind. Patients can attend free classes which teach methods of coping and provide support in addition to the physical treatment. This includes a Yoga For Healing class, free wig fitting appointments, an Art Appreciation class, and other similar activities. Reservations are needed for all the classes, and patients can book them through a scheduler.

We also have Anna's Belles Gynecological Cancer Support Group, a monthly meeting for women who are battling gynecological cancers and which is chaired by Lisa Ramsey, an ovarian cancer survivor who has taken part in the group for 17 years. The Northeast Oklahoma Multiple Myeloma Support Group, co-hosted with the International Myeloma Foundation, meets once a month for myeloma patients, their caregivers and families. The Stonebrook Project's Community Cancer Group meets monthly in Catoosa; the Northeastern Oklahoma Head and Neck Cancer Support Group, associated with SPOHNC, accepts head and neck cancer patients and their caregivers each month, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Blood Cancer Support Group provides a chance for patients and families dealing with blood cancers to connect.

 

Close to Home

To many first-time patients' surprise, these gatherings are often tied to the same office they visit. Many patients you see during your treatment are most likely attending our support groups and events. That kind of overlap makes connections feel closer, less like a stranger and more like a neighbor.

 

Take the next step

If you've been navigating treatment on your own, or you're supporting a loved one and looking for ways to help them connect with others, take a look at what OCSRI offers. Browse the Hope & Healing classes and support groups pages, and find out which group might be the right fit. There's a whole community here, closer than you might think, and here at OCSRI, we are happy to point you in the right direction.