Support Groups for Cancer Patients and Families

The Kids’ Group is a group that meets quarterly at The Miriam Hospital, Fain Building, third floor. Specific dates and time are posted in the waiting areas of Lifespan Cancer Institute locations. The group is designed to orient children age 5 to 17 who have loved ones being treated at the Lifespan Cancer Institute. Activities and food are provided.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Patient and Family Support Group meets on the first Wednesday of the month at Elmhurst Extended Care Facility in the ground level conference room. The meeting is an opportunity for patients and family members living with blood cancers to connect with one another and extend support. The focus is on survivorship as well as new diagnoses.

The LIVESTRONG Cancer Survivorship Program at the Providence YMCA includes use of the YMCA’s facilities, survivorship support classes and other resources, free of charge for all cancer survivors

To register, contact Susanna Bodell, YMCA coordinator, at 508-810-1340.

Join the American Cancer Society (ACS) to learn how to look good and feel better about the skin and hair change that cancer treatment can cause. Attend free workshops led by trained, volunteer cosmetologists. Get help with cosmetics, skin care, and head covering options.

To register, please call the ACS at 1-800-227-2345.

Meeting Locations, Days and Times
(Please call 1-800-227-2345 to verify meeting day before attending):

• Miriam Hospital: Mondays, 1-3 p.m.                         
• Newport Hospital: Mondays, 2-4 p.m.                       
• Rhode Island Hospital, Mondays, 1-3 p.m.   

The Men’s Cancer Wellness Program is a program for men who are diagnosed with prostate, kidney, testicular, bladder, and penile cancers. The group meets at the Fain Building at The Miriam Hospital from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month from September to May. Topics of discussion include treatment options as well as strategies for coping with everyday life.

For more information, please contact Kathy Higginbotham, LICSW, at 401-793-2078.

Nutrition counseling is available to help patient live a healthy lifestyle following cancer treatment. Learn more »

The Peer to Peer Support Group is a unique program that pairs patients and caregivers with trained volunteers to make their cancer journey easier. The volunteer guides are also patients or caregivers who are one year out of active cancer treatment or who live with stable advanced cancer.

Benefits of the program include a decrease in anxiety and isolation, an increase in coping strategies and sense of hope, a buffer in the impact of stress on health and coping, and a chance to see others successfully manage their own problems.

Contact Susan Garland, MSW, LICSW, clinical social worker, at 401-606-2044 to get involved.

Woman to Woman (W2W) is a national program of the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, available in more than 40 hospital-based and community programs nationwide. W2W offers women with gynecologic cancers the opportunity to meet with a trained mentor volunteer. Volunteer mentors offer women comfort, help and advice by sharing the wisdom, experiences and insight of someone who has walked in their shoes.   

Find out more: If you are a survivor of a gynecologic cancer and would like to be become a volunteer mentor or if you are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer and would like to talk with a volunteer mentor, please contact Susan Garland, LICSW at 401-606-2044.

The Women’s Cancer Survivorship Program at the Women’s Medicine Collaborative is a program tailored to the unique needs of women. 

Women’s Cancer Wellness Group is a support group for women diagnosed with any type of cancer who are interested in meeting with peers for discussion, education and support throughout the treatment and recovery process.  The group meets every third Thursday of the month from 4-5 p.m. at the East Greenwich location, 1454 South Country Trail, second floor.

To register please contact clinical social worker Susan Garland, LICSW at 401-606-2044 or Elaine McDonald, LICSW at 401-444-0058.

The Young Fight Strong Program is for women 45 years old and younger who are living with or have survived breast and or gynecological cancer. The program provides workshops, lectures, research opportunities, and group discussions on issues relevant to young patients who have breast or gynecological cancers. Discussion topics include sexuality, exercise, decreasing risk of cancer, and stress reduction.

For information, please call 1-844-222-2881 and ask to speak with someone regarding the Young Fight Strong Program.