18/10/2025
It was a pleasure sharing with this beautiful group of women this morning !
This morning, I gave a talk to this group on "what every woman needs to know about breast cancer", using a lemon to represent the breast and signs and symptoms of breast cancer, as so uniquely demonstrated by . Kudos to them for this symbolism, and I hope many other healthcare providers adopt this symbolism in the education of our patients on breast awareness and breast cancer awareness.
Gennie Dean Caring & Sharing Cancer Support Group, and others like this support group, are most integral in the survivorship process for women with breast cancer.
We, as healthcare providers, are here to facilitate steps in diagnosis and treatment, but unfortunately, many of us cannot relate to everything that the cancer patient is going through. That's why support groups like this one are so important.
Having someone to talk to about what exactly to expect before, during or after surgery, how to feel and mentally process losing a breast, how you are going to feel during the chemo process, and everything else in between - who feels it, knows it - and there is no one better to support you than someone who has already been through or still going through the same journey as you. Knowing and being able to share with someone who has been through it and survived is a great encouragement and hope to many patients.
Cancer Support groups most definitely bridge the gap between the clinician and patient, and help to provide the most needed psychosocial care that we clinicians may not be able to provide because of limited time, heavy patient load, or other institutional or personal barriers.
I strongly believe these groups should be an automatic referral once a patient has been diagnosed with cancer.
Seeing so many survivors today was a great encouragement to me, and even helps me to encourage my patients - you can get through this !
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