Please keep in mind that this page is a work in progress.
We will update this page as we discover more support groups.
Support Groups are extremely important to me, because they give me a chance to both meet other people who share their cancer experiences and share my own experiences. The three organizations I’ve provided below each have a large variety of support groups for cancer patients from all walks of life. I encourage you to look into a support group that meets your criteria.
SHARE Cancer Support
SHARE is a national nonprofit that supports, educates, and empowers anyone who has been diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancers, and provides outreach to the general public about signs and symptoms. They have 27 total support groups for 5 different categories of cancer patients, including: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, and metastatic breast cancer. The SHARE support groups below are just the groups I have attended.
See here for all SHARE Support Groups.
AYA Breast Cancer Support Group
I am one of the facilitators of this support group.
Meeting Date/Time is the fourth Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm CST.
Target Audience is specifically those under 40 years old with early-stage breast cancer (stage 0 thru stage III).
More Info: https://www.sharecancersupport.org/calendar/support-groups/aya-breast-cancer-support-group-2024/
General Breast Cancer Support Group
Meeting Date/Time is the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 5:00 pm CST.
Target Audience is anyone who has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer, those undergoing active treatment, and those who have completed treatment and are in the survivorship stage.
Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZModeCqqjMuH9fw1DKiLG1-gY2dOuJaxK1N#/registration
The IBC Network
The IBC Network Foundation was formed out of efforts to educate everyone about what IBC (inflammatory breast cancer) is. The IBC support groups for patients are held twice a month and offer people an open space to discuss IBC.
IBC Zoom Group
Meeting Date/Time is every month on the first Thursday at 2:00 pm CST, and the third Thursday at 7:00 pm CST.
Target Audience is any person who has been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.
More Info: https://theibcnetwork.org/zoom-ibc-chats/
The Breasties
The Breasties is the first all-inclusive nonprofit organization that creates community for survivors, previvors, stage 4 thrivers, and caregivers impacted by breast and gynecologic cancers. They host weekly virtual meetups that are led by the community and for the community.
See here for The Breasties support group schedule, which people can view and register for on The Breasties app.
LGBTQ+ Breasties
Meeting Date/Time is the first Monday of every month.
Thrivers / Stage 4 Breasties
Meeting Date/Time is the last Wednesday of every month.
BIPOC Breasties
Meeting Date/Time is the third Monday of every month.
Newly Navigating Life as a Breastie
Meeting Date/Time is the second Tuesday of every month.
Gynecologic Cancers
Meeting Date/Time is the third Tuesday of every other month.
Breasties in Active Treatment & Surgery
Meeting Date/Time is the fourth Tuesday of every other month.
Sex & Intimacy Meetups
Meeting Date/Time is the second Tuesday of every other month.
Survivors Meetups
Meeting Date/Time is the third Tuesday of every other month.
Previvors Meetups
Meeting Date/Time is the fourth Tuesday of every other month.
Young Survival Coalition (YSC)
YSC’s support groups allow you to connect with others from the comfort of your own home. Grow relationships with your peers who may share similar diagnoses, life experiences or treatment types. To participate, you will need to have a computer, tablet or phone with a webcam and internet/data connection. If you are not able to connect with video, you can join by phone only.
The YSC virtual support groups are for young adults who are affected by some form of breast cancer and offer 6 different groups every month.
YSC All Survivors & Thrivers
Meeting Date/Time is on the second Wednesday of every month at 8 pm CST.
Target Audience is any person age 40 or younger who is diagnosed with breast cancer.
More Info: https://youngsurvival.org/f2f-virtual-hangout
YSC Metastatic Thrivers
Meeting Date/Time is on the first Monday of every month at 7:30 pm CST.
Target Audience is exclusively those who are managing stage IV breast cancer.
More Info: https://youngsurvival.org/ysc-virtual-hangout-for-metastatic-thrivers
YSC African American & Black Thrivers
Meeting Date/Time is on the last Thursday of every month at 6 pm CST.
Target Audience is exclusively those who are African-American young breast cancer survivors.
More Info: https://youngsurvival.org/ysc-virtual-hangout-for-african-american-young-breast-cancer-survivors
YSC LGBTQ+ Survivors
Meeting Date/Time is on the second Monday of every month at 8 pm CST.
Target Audience is LGBTQ+ survivors and thrivers of breast cancer.
More Info: https://youngsurvival.org/ysc-virtual-hangout-for-lgbtq-survivors
YSC Flatties Quarterly
Meeting Date/Time is on the fourth Monday of August, November, February, and May at 7 pm CST.
Target Audience is exclusively those with aesthetic flat closure and young adults considering “going flat” following mastectomy.
More Info: https://youngsurvival.org/flatties-quarterly-virtual-hangout
MD Anderson Cancer Center
MD Anderson Zoom support groups facilitated by Social work counselors. These sessions provide an opportunity for patients, family members, and friends to meet others in similar circumstances, develop new relationships, and find out how others cope during this time of increased distress.
MD Anderson also provides about 20 other support groups for patients with a variety of kinds of cancer—see their full list here.
See here for other MD Anderson-promoted resources.
Young Adult Support Group
Meeting Date/Time is the second and fourth Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm CST.
Target Audience is cancer patients ages 18-39 who are patients at all stages of the cancer experience.
Registration Link: https://mdanderson.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_00pEh7ddXWS0sGG