Welcome to the official blog of The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura, an affiliate of the Cancer Support Community! Thank you for stopping by. We’ll use this space to share fresh news, inspiring stories, helpful advice, upcoming events, and anything else we feel will help our readers engage with our cancer support organization and the cancer support community at large. Please keep your feedback coming, via comments, or send us an email.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Help Change the Breast Cancer Experience


The Wellness Community Valley/Ventura knows that breast cancer is more than just treating the disease; there are often emotional and social challenges that may cause distress during a cancer experience. In a recent study of women affected by breast cancer, those who received emotional and social support had lower distress levels, were less likely to have a recurrence, had better overall health and were more likely to live longer compared those who did not receive the emotional and social support component.

But more research is needed to determine the social and emotional needs of breast cancer survivors, where there are gaps in care and how we can fill those gaps. That is why we hope you’ll help spread the word about The Cancer Survivor Registry: Breast Cancer M.A.P. (Mind Affects the Physical) Project, a new movement to identify and address the emotional and social needs that accompany a breast cancer diagnosis. This registry of breast cancer survivors is a critical step in understanding the impact of breast cancer and ultimately discovering innovative ways to address them.

Participating is easy. All it takes is a few simple steps:

1. Visit www.breastcancerregistry.org and create an account! It only takes 10 minutes to answer some simple background questions. (We’ll even give you a peek at how your fellow survivors have answered.)
2. Once a year, answer questions about your experience with breast cancer.
3. Enjoy access to M.A.P. Project updates, breast cancer news, existing support resources for breast cancer survivors and opportunities to take part in other studies throughout the year.

Help change the breast cancer experience for the millions of women who live it every day. Encourage breast cancer survivors to register now at www.breastcancerregistry.org. Together, we can make a difference!