How important is it to join a support group after treatment?
After treatment is a particularly good time to join a support group because many people experience some degree of anxiety as their medical treatments wind down and they begin to re-enter a life that is not dictated by weekly visits to a medical center. After treatment support groups are often labeled “survivor groups” (although we call them “Looking Ahead”) and are often made up of individuals with no evidence of disease who are no longer having treatment. These groups tend to deal with issues related to fear of recurrence, returning to work, family life returning to normal, but also the ongoing distress that many people continue to have even though their cancer has been treated. Patients often find that, when the treatment is over, friends and family are ready to put the experience behind them, but many patients/survivors still have ongoing concerns that they need to talk about. After-treatment support groups provide a good place to do that.
