Copelink Blog

As 2016 draws near, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on all we’ve accomplished in the past year. Here’s a look back at just a few of the highlights from 2015.

Of course, the truest highlights have been the exchanges between our social workers and clients, the bonds formed between members of our support groups and the words of thanks we receive from those who feel they have been helped. All of us at CancerCare look forward to continuing to provide help and hope to anyone affected by cancer, and working to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone.

The holidays can be a difficult time for people who are coping with cancer. CancerCare Oncology Social Worker, Andrew Chesler, LMSW, offers advice on how to approach the holidays during a cancer diagnosis, in ways that stay true to your emotions and build closer ties with those around you.

To celebrate National Family Caregivers Month, we invited the CancerCare community to share photos of a pet who helped them cope with cancer. We’re delighted to announce our contest winners, as determined by you! Congratulations to our top three Critter Caregivers: Kobe, Hero and Bandit! Read on to hear their stories.

Please join us in congratulating Carolyn Messner, DSW, Director of Education and Training at CancerCare, on being named Fellow of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS)! Dr. Messner is the director of CancerCare’s Connect Education Workshops, which are one-hour telephone and online workshops featuring the world’s leading cancer experts who present on a wide-range of cancer-related topics.

Hearing that you or a loved one has cancer can feel terrifying and overwhelming. Here at CancerCare, we recently discovered a new book that can help. AFTER YOU HEAR IT’S CANCER: A Guide to Navigating the Difficult Journey Ahead, is written by health care experts John Leifer and Lori Lindstrom Leifer M.D., and offers a thorough and reliable guide for patients and families as they make the challenging and uncertain journey through this difficult disease.

More than 1,000 CancerCare friends and supporters came together to take part in the 13th Annual CancerCare Lung Cancer Walk for Hope, held at The Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course in Woodbury, on Sunday, November 8. The powerful event raised more than $180,000 in support of CancerCare’s Lung Cancer Support Program, the only ongoing program on Long Island providing free counseling to patients, loved ones and caregivers affected by lung cancer.

Today’s blog post comes from Chiara D’Agostino, who writes at Beauty Through the Beast about her experience with breast cancer and how it’s affected different facets of her life. Here, she muses upon how a breast cancer diagnosis often coincides with the end of a relationship, combining her own story with a wealth of research and advice for others. You can read a longer version of this piece on her blog.

When CancerCare put out a call to clients in the New York tri-state area, asking if they would be interested in participating in a photoshoot for CancerCare’s publications and materials, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. Needless to say, we were floored by the overwhelming response from 25 individuals, who stopped by our office in late October to meet one another, have their makeup done and get their photos taken.

CancerCare is pleased to share that we have received a grant of over $1.5 million to assist people diagnosed with breast cancer. The generous grant will support Linking A.R.M.S., a CancerCare program in partnership with Susan G. Komen, and includes specially allocated funds exclusively for patients in Gainesville, Florida.

With hundreds of people gathered at Jennings Beach in Connecticut on a chilly but beautiful fall morning, CancerCare kicked off its 9th Annual Fairfield Walk/Run for Hope to raise vital funds for our programs and services for those affected by cancer. The October 4th event brought together members of the Fairfield community and beyond to honor loved-ones and celebrate survivors.