Resources

Metavivor provides support
from metavivor.org

A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer rocks the world of anyone who hears those words from their doctor. Access to support can make an enormous difference in the ability to cope, find comfort, and keep going.

Below are resources to help those with MBC find understanding and camaraderie by making it possible to interact with others facing similar decisions, struggles and fears.  Whether the goal is to find a support group, start a support group, grow a group into an advocacy organization, or just read the stories of others in the same situation, METAvivor can point you in the right direction.

NEWLY DIAGNOSED

A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer rocks the world of anyone who hears those words from their doctor. Access to support can make an enormous difference in the ability to cope, find comfort, and keep going. The resources on these pages can MBC patients find solace, understanding and camaraderie by connecting them with others facing similar decisions, struggles, and fears. Whether the goal is to find a support group, start a support group, or just read the stories of others in the same situation, METAvivor can point you in the right direction.

CREATING OR GROWING A SUPPORT PROGRAM

Are you looking for an in-person support group, but can't find one in your area?  Consider starting your own group. Starting your own group can be easy, and will be much appreciated by other metastatic breast cancer patients who join you. Compass, the precursor to METAvivor, started in 2006 as a peer-to-peer support initiative in Annapolis, Maryland.

To help provide guidance to MBC patients who are interested in starting their own support groups, METAvivor, with the generous support of an AVON Foundation MBC Grant, has launched a program called Peer To Peer: METAvivor Training Program For Support Group Leaders. The Peer to Peer support groups are run by MBC patients for MBC patients, and are based on the concept that patients with MBC gravitate toward each other for advice, comfort, sharing and friendship. Members get together at coffee shops, restaurants, and other meeting areas to chat and share information about MBC The members quickly develop close friendships and also serve as a source of local support when times are rough.

Learn more about Peer to Peer, and how you can start your own local support group. 

FINDING AND JOINING EXISTING SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Meeting others who share your illness can be an enormous source of support and validation of your own experience. Metastatic breast cancer support groups can be difficult to find, but they do exist, and social media has also expanded the options for online support.

In addition, METAvivor’s Peer To Peer Support Group program has trained MBC patients to create and lead support groups.

If we do not offer a support group in your area, read about other online, in-person, formal and informal support group options.

PATIENT QUOTES

Learn more about living with metastatic breast cancer. MBC patients share their wisdom, fears, advice and encouragement through quotes and brief stories. In your own words, please consider submitting your own thoughts and experiences to share with others.

Click here for a comprehensive list of support offerings from Metavivor