Cancer Support Groups Aren’t for Everyone — We All Have Our Own Way of Coping

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You’ll find a lot of information about coping mechanisms here on SurvivorNet. Every survivor we talk to has their own way of coping — whether it’s exercise, advocacy, or meditation. Bethany Kandel, an 11-year breast cancer survivor, tells SurvivorNet that after her diagnosis, she felt like she was supposed to meet with support groups — because that was just what people with cancer do. But she quickly realized that, while hugely valuable for a lot of people, group sessions were not for her.

“I went to a support group, because I thought it was what I was supposed to do … I thought it would be helpful,” Bethany says. “It was a room of lovely women, but each one had a worse story than I did … all these complications, and horrible scary things. I actually had to leave the room.”

What helped Bethany in the end was a program her hospital offered that brought survivors together to participate in fun activities — like dancing, cooking, and beauty classes. The idea was to bond survivors together — and for Bethany, it really worked. “I’ve learned so much that I hope to pass on to others,” Bethany says.

Bethany also created a website called Breast Cancer Freebies, meant to support other women as they battle cancer.

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