Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis is a deeply stressful life-changing event that can lead to an emotional crisis. When you are diagnosed with cancer, you are faced with psychological, emotional, and economic challenges that are extremely difficult to face alone. The experience can be devastating and lead to feelings of hopelessness and depression. Patients with breast cancer need to contend with the exhaustion and discomfort of treatment, dealing with friends and family, and fear of pain and death. However, you do not have to face these challenges alone. Breast cancer support groups are an ideal source of social support where you can learn about your diagnosis and treatment while having a safe space to receive encouragement and help through the difficult times. Beyond the emotional support, these support groups have several other benefits, such as a place to exchange information about treatment and learn new coping skills. 

Psychological Impact of Living with Breast Cancer

Women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer may go through a period of emotional crisis due to the trauma of the news. They may feel an overwhelming fear of death while contemplating how their quality of life will be affected by treatment. After the primary period of treatment, those with breast cancer may experience a number of psychological symptoms including:

• Mood changes
• Hypersensitivity 
• Body image disturbance
• Low self-esteem
• Sexual problems
• Economic concerns
• Fear of recurrence
• Family-related worries
• Generalized anxiety
• Depression

Women who have recovered from breast cancer also experience psychiatric symptoms of anxiety because of fear of recurrence. No matter what stage of treatment you are in, the anxiety and stress of living with cancer can be overwhelming and impair your quality of life. Depression can affect your body image, sexual drive, and function, and darken your perspective on life. Chemotherapy and other treatments can worsen these symptoms due to changes in appearance and overall effects on energy levels and well-being. It’s not an easy road! How wonderful it is that people living with breast cancer do not have to stay in these dark places. What helps is reaching out and finding support. Feelings of hopelessness and desperation build when you are lacking in support. However, for women who join a support group, these feelings subside. 

The Benefits of Joining an Online Breast Cancer Group

Studies of women with breast cancer who attended support groups regularly showed that the group helped them to feel less alone and gave them an opportunity to verbalize feelings. Online support groups helped those with breast cancer to improve their ability to communicate while increasing knowledge about what to expect during treatment and recovery. The women in these groups reported improved moods, satisfaction, and ability to function. 

An important factor in coping with cancer was their willingness to think and talk about their illness openly. Emotional expression is a healthy coping mechanism when it decreases stress. There is something about freely expressing anger and frustration that lifts the weight off of you as opposed to suppressing these emotions. There are several benefits to joining a breast cancer support group, including:

• Provides an open environment to share anxieties, fears, and emotions
• Builds healthy communication skills
• Reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation
• Builds friendships of mutual support and understanding
• Allows for information exchange between peers and professional oncologists

Read on to learn how these five positive outcomes can help you in ways you never expected when you started this new journey of your life. 

Provides an Open Environment to Share 

When you join a cancer support group, be prepared for a journey where you will work through negative and positive emotions. Like any journey, you will be met with obstacles along the way. If you are going through a time of darkness, know there is a beautiful light awaiting you through this journey and it begins with reaching out and receiving support. A breast cancer support group is a safe space that is created to help you openly talk about your struggles, emotions, and doubts throughout your treatment and recovery. In this safe space, you are supported by peers who help you feel you are not alone. You can gain strength in this support system to work through the problems you face and confidently go through your treatments.

Builds Healthy Communication Skills

Building positive communication skills with people in your life helps to improve your emotional health. One of the challenges patients and physicians face is a good line of communication where both understand each other. Attending a support group can provide you with information from other group members that improve your ability to ask your physician educated questions about your treatment. You also may have more confidence and be able to openly express any doubts and fears about your treatment with your physician. 

Another obstacle you may be facing is a healthy relationship with your friends and family. Many people who are diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer find that their friends and family do not know how to talk to them or support them through their treatment. Sometimes, the shock of diagnosis scares loved ones of cancer patients and they do not know how to talk nor support them. Group participation can improve your ability to ask for help from your family and loved ones by showing you how to set boundaries in your life and reach out for support. 

Reduces Feelings of Loneliness and Isolation

Some cancer patients find that diagnosis and treatment are followed by a strange distance forming between themselves and loved ones. While the love and support is real and honorable, your loved one may not truly comprehend or understand what you are going through. Unfortunately, this distance can lead to loneliness and isolation which in turn can cause sadness and depression. We are a social species, and being connected to people is very important to mental health. This is where finding friends in a support group comes in.  Social connections lift your spirit and allow you to see life with a brighter outlook. 

Builds Friendships of Mutual Support and Understanding

Participants in breast cancer support groups can build threads of connectivity and trust that free you to openly express your feelings and how the treatment is working for you. In this safe place, you can let go of suppressed emotions and express your anger and fear without judgment. The relationships you build with other group members give you an opportunity to not only be supported during your difficult times but also to help another woman during her dark moments. It is amazing how uplifting helping another person in need can be. Celebrating victories and sharing tears is a precious bond that helps bring you out of low moods and depressive symptoms.  

Information Exchange by Peers and Professional Moderators

One of the main reasons people living with cancer choose to join a cancer support group is to access resources that build their knowledge about all different aspects of cancer, including treatment options and alternative approaches to coping with side effects. Members of breast cancer support groups will often be at different stages of treatment and recovery. Some peers in the group have gone through treatment and are in recovery or remission. They are able to share their knowledge of what to expect and guide those newly diagnosed on how to approach their physician and advise on questions to ask. Many breast cancer support groups are moderated by professional oncologists who are excellent sources of information for treatment options and can answer any questions you may have. Patients felt that the information learned in these support groups helped them to feel they had the right knowledge to manage their disease.

Resources

Beauodoin, C. E., & Chen-Chao Tao. (2007, November 04). Benefiting from social capital in online support groups: An empirical study of cancer patients. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 10(4). Retrieved from PSU: https://www.healthline.com/health/your-advanced-breast-cancer-journey/support-group-benefits

İzci, F., et. al. (2020, January). Impact of personality traits, anxiety, depression and hopelessness levels on quality of life in the patients with breast cancer. European Journal of Breast Health, 16(1), 81-. Retrieved from PMC: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5939973/

Newsome, M. (2019, March 20). You’re not alone: 6 benefits of joining a breast cancer support group. Retrieved from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/your-advanced-breast-cancer-journey/support-group-benefits

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