Community Corner
Breast Cancer Support Groups in Northampton Area
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, here's a list of local breast cancer support groups.
One in 8 American women and 1 in 1,000 American men will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people are diagnosed with breast cancer and fight for their lives each year.
Breast cancer is difficult to face alone—for both patients and their loved ones. To help in the battle, there are a number of local resources and support groups.
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- Meetings are held the first Thursday of the month from 7 - 9 p.m. and alternate between Southampton and Bensalem. Register here. The next meeting is Nov. 1 at Bucks County Specialty Hospital at 3300 Tillman Dr., Bensalem.
Doylestown Hospital Breast Cancer Support Group:
- This support group meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in Conference Room A at the Doylestown Hopspital, at 595 West State St., Doylestown.
Gilda's Club Young Survivors' Group:
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- Gilda's Club meets the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at 200 Kirk Rd., Warminster. Call Nicole DeCicco at 215-441-3290 x. 115 or e-mail nicole@gildasclubdelval.org to RSVP or for more information. Registration is required.
St. Mary Medical Cancer Center Support Group:
- Call Melanie Kaplan at 215-710-6828 or e-mail melanie@gildasclubdelval.org for dates and times of St. Mary's cancer support groups. 1201 Langhorne-Newtown Rd, Langhorne.
“Support groups are really beneficial,” says Debra Somerrs Copit, MD, Director of Breast Imaging at Albert Einstein Medical Center, and a member of the medical advisory board for Living Beyond Breast Cancer.
“When patients are told they’re sick, it can be an out of body experience and they aren’t taking in everything the doctor is saying. It can be helpful to have someone to turn to and learn from who has gone through the same thing,” says Copit, who is a breast cancer survivor herself.
Not only do groups offer emotional support, but being a part of a support group can actually help patients feel less depressed and can help to reduce physical pain, according to a 2001 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Patients who aren’t big fans of group settings but still want to reap the benefits can turn to technology. It’s hard to duplicate in-person support groups on the web, but the recently launched breast cancer specific social networking platform, MyBreastCancerTeam comes close.
The site and mobile app caters to breast cancer survivors, and women who have been recently diagnosed. Users can find suggestions for doctors and find similar users based on location, diagnosis and age. Members also have access to peer-driven Q&A section where they can read and write posts.
While a web platform may be useful for some, Dr.Copit worries that online forums can sometimes trigger the spread of misinformation. She suggests that patients who can’t make it to an in-person support group try calling a phone line.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer has a confidential survivors’ helpline that connects patients with others of similar background, going through similar situation. Call (888) 753-LBBC (5222) for more information.
TELL US: Do you know of any breast cancer support groups in the community? How have they helped you?
