Adults
Disclaimer: These resources are regularly reviewed to ensure that links still work correctly and the resources listed continue to be helpful to our visitors. If you find that a link isn't working or information is incorrect or if you'd like to have your own organization listed here, please email thedirectory@lls.org.
Because we want to be sure that our visitors find the most relevant resources, we've listed these organizations in order of relevancy from most specifically relevant to most generally relevant to the topic of this page.
LIVESTRONG
Contact: (866) 467-7205 or (877) 236-8820
Population served: Young adult cancer patients and survivors (ages 15 to 40), their caregivers, families and friends in the United States
LIVESTRONG provides practical information and tools for cancer patients in addition to its work in the fields of advocacy, public health and research.
- Survivorship Center of Excellence Network (a collaborative effort of the LIVESTRONG cancer centers at leading medical institutions and their community affiliates)
- Provides direct survivorship services
- SurvivorCare program offers help dealing with the cancer experience through counseling and referrals to local resources: free and confidential one-on-one support, telephone or online support groups, bereavement resources, financial issues and insurance concerns
I'm Too Young for This
Contact: (877) 735-4673
Population served: Young adult cancer patients or survivors, under age 40, in the United States
Its mission is to empower young adults affected by cancer by ending isolation, improving quality of life and providing meaningful survivorship.
- Provides a listings of support organizations including Web networking, online forums, chat rooms, young adult blogosphere, coping literature, books, magazines and other media
- Provides events and support services through local chapters
- Offers music and art advocacy
CancerCare
Contact: (800) 813-4673
Population served: Patients and family members in the United States
CancerCare provides free, professional support services to anyone affected by cancer: people with cancer, caregivers, children, loved ones and the bereaved.
- Provides counseling; face to face in the New York metro area or online, or over the phone nationwide
- Offers free education programs in the form of podcasts and booklets
- Offers resource guides
Cancer Support Community (CSC)
Contact: 888-793-9355
Population served: Patients diagnosed with cancer, friends and families in the United States and Canada
In 2009, The Wellness Community and Gilda?s Club Worldwide joined forces to become the Cancer Support Community. CSC strives to optimize patient care by providing essential, but often overlooked, services including support groups, counseling, education and healthy lifestyle programs. CSC provides emotional and social support through a network of more than 50 local affiliates, 100 satellite locations and online.
- Offers professionally led online support groups for patients
- Provides an online resource library of educational materials for disease and wellness information
- Provides support and networking groups
- Offers lectures and workshops on a variety of topics
- Provides social activities such as potluck suppers, comedy nights and holiday celebrations
AMC Cancer Fund (AMC)
Contact: (800) 525-3777
Population served: Cancer patients, caregivers, friends and members of the public in the United States
AMC, a Cancer Information and Counseling Line staffed by master level and licensed counselors, provides short-term counseling to those affected by cancer.
- Provides confidential counseling
- Provides national and local resource referrals
American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS)
Contact: (866) 276-7443
Population served: Patients with cancer and their caregivers in the United States
APOS is devoted solely to the psychosocial care of people with cancer and their caregivers.
- Offers a call center for referrals to a psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse, social worker or counselor skilled in the management of cancer-related distress. If no resources can be identified in the patient's community, a mental health professional from the APOS call center will provide counseling via telephone to callers in crisis
American Cancer Society (ACS)
Contact: (800) 227-2345
Population served: Patients and caregivers in the United States
ACS assists cancer patients and their caregivers with information about diseases, financial support, support groups, lodging and medical equipment. ACS has local chapters throughout the United States to provide assistance within the community.
- Cancer Survivor Network provides online discussion boards, a chat room and the ability to create personal webpages to share your story
- I Can Hope education programs provide information about cancer online and in the community
- Look Good, Feel Better program for female adults and teens to help restore appearance and self-image during chemotherapy and radiation treatments
- Refers to local chapters for community-based support services
Cancer Hope Network
Contact: (877) 467-3638
Population served: Patients with cancer and their loved ones in the United States
Cancer Hope Network provides free and confidential one-on-one support to cancer patients and their families.
- Matches cancer patients and/or family members with trained volunteers who themselves have undergone and recovered from a similar cancer experience. This service is provided via telephone
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)
Contact: (877) 622-7937
Population served: Patients and caregivers in the United States
NCCS is a survivor-led cancer organization advocating for quality cancer care and empowering cancer survivors.
- Provides Cancer Survival Toolbox - a free, self-learning audio/transcript program to help develop skills to better understand the challenges of illness (English/Spanish/Chinese transcripts)
- Offers publications that include information about insurance, employment and self-advocacy
- Provides Surviving with Confidence in which survivors who have undergone chemotherapy share their story
- Offers survivor profiles and a place on its website to share a personal story
- Provides a searchable resource guide
The Patient/Partner Project
Contact: (800) 366-2347
Population served: Patients with cancer and their caregivers, worldwide
The Patient/Partner Project is a multifaceted, long-term program focused on helping cancer patients by helping their partners.
- Offers a Web-based tool where patients and caregivers post private updates about the patient's treatment and condition. The members on the private patient/caregiver list are alerted to the update
- Provides a "mini-course" on coping with a serious illness via a series of emails automatically sent at regular intervals
- Produces a monthly eNewsletter
Kids Konnected
Contact: (800) 899-2866
Population served: Children, aged 3 to 19, who have a parent diagnosed with cancer or have lost a parent to cancer in the United States
Kids Konnected provides friendship, understanding, education and support for kids and teens who have a parent with cancer or have lost a parent to cancer.
- Provides a call center for children/teens where they can speak to a youth leader or clinical social worker
- Offers support groups at limited locations
- Provides care packages to families for a small donation
- Provides information and resources for parents on how to talk to their children about cancer
- Offers an Email-a-Therapist option
Vital Options International, Inc.
Contact: (800) 477-7666
Population served: Cancer patients worldwide
Vital Options International is a cancer communication, support and advocacy organization with a mission to facilitate a global cancer dialogue.
- Provides The Group Room, a weekly cancer talk show, via radio and Internet, in which patients worldwide may participate
- Offers website in French and German
- Provides podcasts, resource links and treatment center listings specifically for young adults
Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN)
Contact: (866) 994-3276
Population served: Fire service members and families with cancer in the United States
FCSN provides timely assistance to all fire service members and their families in the event of a cancer diagnosis.
- Maintains and updates a roster of mentors who have personal experience with cancer and who will guide the patient
- Provides assistance, guidance and support including behavioral health services, fire service organizations, fire service chaplains and other cancer support programs
- Offers online member forums and a chat room
HelpPRO
Contact: (800) 652-0155
Population served: People in search of mental health services in the United States
HelpPRO provides the public with a way to identify and access the services of mental health clinicians and organizations.
- Provides assistance in identifying mental health clinicians either through their website tool or through a representative reached at their toll-free phone number
- Provides detailed information on thousands of mental health professionals, their services and their organizations
- Includes information about the professionals' particular areas of expertise, accessibility, insurance accepted and much more
- As an expression of gratitude to U.S. returning soldiers, hundreds of the therapists listed in HelpPro, provide one free hour of counseling each week to them and their families. To identify these therapists, please go to the "Advanced Search" section of the website and select this under "free services."
Give an Hour (GAH)
Population served: The United States military troops and their families who are affected by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are in need of mental health services.
Give an Hour is a community-focused organization that provides military troops and their families with free mental health services through licensed mental health professionals who donate their time and expertise. The participating mental health professionals offer a wide range of services including individual, marital and family therapy, substance abuse counseling, treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and counseling for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. In exchange, individuals who receive services will be given the opportunity to give an hour back in their own communities through volunteer opportunities.
- Provides a "Basic Search" tool, which allows the user to choose from a short list of fields to identify providers in the area
- Provides the "Guided Search" tool, which asks a series of questions to help find providers in the area that best suit the user's situation
The National CML Society (NCMLS)
Contact: (877) 431-2573
Population served: CML patients, their families and caregivers in the United States
The NCMLS mission is to provide educational resources, access to CML specialists/experts and a network of others to share personal experiences.
- Provides extensive glossary of CML terms and CML information
- Provides assistance researching and helping find financial assistance
- Provides peer matching program and has a Counselor Advisor to assist in locating mental health resources
- Provides resources for the caregiver, including ways to connect with other caregivers
- Provides CMLConnection, a listing of support groups
Patient Resource Publishing
Contact: (816) 333-3595, ext. 26
Population served: People diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers in the United States
Patient Resource Publishing produces a free resource guide and offers a companion website, MyCancerAdvisor.com, which is a portal of Web information. The primary objective of both is to empower the community in the fight against cancer.
The Patient Resource Cancer Guide assists to empower and prepare newly diagnosed and newly restaged cancer patients in becoming their own advocates. This guide, which may be ordered via telephone or through the website, provides:
- Encouraging stories of survival
- Detailed sections about treatment options and clinical trials
- Patient-focused information regarding cancer treatment facilities
- List of organizations that are resources for cancer-specific information
The website MyCancerAdvisor.com provides:
- Current medical journal articles about cancer advances, including clinical trials
- Information on some disease-specific cancers
- Links to videos on different topics
