Social Support
Listening to others’ experiences, sharing your own, and creating connections can have a profound impact on your well-being. In our social support section, you will discover programs and groups that connect you with a community of people with cancer and caregivers who can provide understanding, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.
The goal of the Anchorage Ostomy Support Group is to provide support and education to people with ostomies and/or their support people. While there are many resources online, this group allows people with ostomies to meet with others locally face-to-face.
The Anchorage Ostomy Support Group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6pm. To confirm the meeting time and location, please call the Alaska Regional Hospital Cancer Care Center at (907) 231-6314.
The group strongly encourages all people with ostomies and their supporters to participate!
Anchorage Young Cancer Coalition is a community for young people facing cancer. They host multiple meetups each month featuring many activities, which allows members to attend different events at different times that work best for their schedule and interests.
Anchorage Young Cancer Coalition (AYCC) is a group for people who have been diagnosed with any type of cancer and who are young at heart or were diagnosed in their 20’s, 30’s, or 40’s. The group is open to anyone across Alaska, even if you are just passing through the state and want to meet up.
Their mission is to provide emotional support and empowerment through building community, improving quality of life, and providing meaningful survivorship to those affected by cancer as a young adult. Their vision is no survivor alone.
To learn more about the group, how to join, upcoming activities, or ways you can support, please visit their website here. You can also join a private Facebook group or their mailing list, which are both listed on their website.
Beat the Odds - Cancer Support Group
Beat the Odds is a grassroots, nonprofit organization in Petersburg, Alaska, designed to assist people living with cancer, their families, and support systems. The all-volunteer organization offers a free support group in Petersburg each month for anyone living with or impacted in any way by cancer.
The Petersburg Cancer Support Group is a free, unstructured, and anonymous gathering of people impacted by cancer. Discussion topics vary widely based on what participants bring to the conversation, with previous topics including recovery strategies such as nutrition and exercise, dealing with fear, loss and grief, celebrating good test results, and advice about doctors and hospitals.
The group meets on the first Friday of each month at the Petersburg Public Library. For specific timing or any other questions, please reach out to Lea Stanton Gregor, the group facilitator, at (907) 650-7292, or visit online at www.foundtruenorth.com.
The Alaska Blood Cancers Support Group provides an opportunity for people with blood cancers to discuss concerns, anxieties, and feelings related to illness and treatment. The group provides support and education by meeting with others with similar experiences.
The Alaska Blood Cancers Support Group meets virtually on the third Wednesday of each month at 2pm. The group is free, but pre-registration is required.
You can register by visiting this website and finding the next meeting of the group, and you can confirm by reaching out to Kelly Marre, LMSW, at kmarre@cpgh.org.
Cancer Connection is a grass-roots, nonprofit organization designed to assist people living with cancer, their families, and support systems. They offer education programs, awareness events, social support, and financial relief with the intent of prevention and early detection of cancer.
Cancer Connection’s mission is to bring together health and wellness resources for people residing in Southeast Alaska, thereby empowering them to make sound decisions and choices with the goal of prolonging their quality of life whether in time of crisis or fulfillment.
They offer connections to counseling and mental wellness resources and a support group for Juneau cancer survivors.
The Juneau Cancer Survivors’ Support Group meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm at 3225 Hospital Drive.
To learn more about their resources and support group, please visit their website here. You can also reach out to admin@cancerconnectionak.org or (907) 796-2273.
The Interior Alaska Cancer Association is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that helps people with cancer and their families in the Interior and educates the community. They provide support groups and financial relief.
The Interior Alaska Cancer Association organizes a monthly virtual support group on the second Wednesday of each month at 6pm.
To join the support group or to learn more about their work, please visit their website here and reach out to info@interioralaskacancer.org or their Facebook page here.
Just Us Girls Support is a volunteer-led community for women in the Mat-Su Valley who are recently diagnosed, currently in treatment, or in remission of cancer. Their mission is to provide hope, activities, and resources to women living with cancer.
Just Us Girls Support offers social outings, group activities, and classes for everything from learning how to tie a headscarf, draw on eyebrows, meditate, live healthier, and receive free items from cancer foundation to just having fun.
To learn more about Just Us Girls Support and their activities, please visit their Facebook group here or reach out to jugsatmatsu@gmail.com.
Let Every Woman Know is a volunteer-led nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing, facing, and ending gynecologic cancers. They provide creative statewide education, support, advocacy, and arts programs unique to Alaska’s diverse communities.
Let Every Woman Know provides opportunities for people with gynecologic cancer to connect with others with shared experiences and their caregivers. They organize support groups, fitness activities, social outings, and retreats.
To join a support group, learn more about their work, or volunteer, please visit their website here and reach out to leteverywomanknow@gmail.com or (907) 263-1009.
Southcentral Foundation offers the Power of Hope Cancer and Education Social Group as a resource for anyone in the community with cancer, caregivers, and support partners. The group is designed to provide healthy methods for preventing, managing, and surviving cancer.
Southcentral Foundation’s Power of Hope Cancer and Education Social Group provides an opportunity for people with cancer, caregivers, and supporters to join a community of others with similar experiences. The group features professional and providers who share stories information on coping with stress, choosing the right treatment options, nutrition, meal planning, gene counseling, risk factors, early detection, prevention, and more.
The Power of Hope support group meets virtually on the first Thursday of each month at 12pm.
For more information or to join the group, please download this flier and reach out to scfpowerofhope@southcentralfoundation.com or (907) 729-2689.
The Providence Cancer Center provides social support and resource navigation. They offer a support group for people with breast cancer to connect with others with similar experiences and to share support, understanding, and resources.
The Providence Cancer Center’s breast cancer support group is led by a cancer patient navigator with the goal of creating a confidential and safe place for all members who participate.
The group meets on the third Thursday of each month at 4pm at 3851 Piper St, U Tower, First Floor, Suite 120 in Anchorage. Registration is required to join the group, and it is free. Masks and social distancing will be encouraged.
To learn more or to register for a meeting, please visit this website and search for the breast cancer support group, or reach out to (907) 212-4770.
The Sitka Cancer Survivor’s Society is an organization dedicated to honoring, educating, comforting, and inspiring people with cancer in Sitka and their families. They operate a support group and the Path of Hope project – a trail designed to uplift and honor cancer survivors.
The Sitka Cancer Survivor’s Society organizes monthly support group meetings in Sitka and maintains the Path of Hope project, which is an outdoor trail in Sitka’s Moller Park that winds through a section of landscaped nature with benches, sculptures, and plaques that honor cancer survivors.
The support group meets on the third Sunday of each month. Meeting notices, times, and locations can be found in the Sitka newspaper.
To learn more about the Sitka Cancer Survivor’s Society, please download this brochure or visit their Facebook page here.
Us TOO is an informal support group for people with prostate or testicular cancer and their support people in Alaska. They provide opportunities to meet with others and to discuss cancer detection, side effects of treatment, and how to cope with issues related to cancer.
Us TOO helps people with prostate and testicular cancer and their families find resources for their particular situation and make informed decisions about detection, treatment, and related side effects, but they do not provide medical advice or referrals.
They strongly encourage anyone affected by these cancers, caregivers, or support people to join the group and find the support they need.
The group meets twice weekly, one in-person and one virtually for anyone in Alaska. Their in-person meeting is every Thursday at 10am at the Barnes & Noble Café at 200 E. Northern Lights Blvd. in Anchorage, and their virtual meeting is every Wednesday at 10am.
To join the group, please reach out to ustooak@gmail.com and visit their website here.
Women LISTEN is a group of local women dedicated to supporting women with cancer in the Anchorage and Mat-Su general area. They offer a support group, resources and information, social events, and free annual retreats where participants share, laugh, play, learn, and more.
Women LISTEN is an informal support group dedicated to supporting women in Anchorage and the Mat-Su general area by sharing information, offering emotional support and practical ideas, advocating for people with cancer, and connecting women in meaningful ways.
They offer a weekly support group for women to listen in, to share their stories, to ask questions, or to meet other women coping with all stages of cancer. They also offer annual retreats free of charge, which have historically been fly-fishing trips in the Mat-Su Valley in the summer and trips to Girdwood in the winter. The group and the retreats are open to women only.
The support group meets virtually every week on Fridays at 10am.
To join the group, learn more about the retreats, or read more about Women LISTEN, please visit their website here and reach out to womenlisten@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page here.