Resources

Community & Support

National

Rethink Breast Cancer is a charity helping young people who are concerned about and affected by breast cancer through innovative breast cancer education, research and support programs. Rethink’s national and local support programs are for women in their 20s, 30s and early 40s who are living with and recovering from breast cancer. 

Breast Cancer Now What was developed by young women with breast cancer for young women with breast cancer, to provide information, support, inspiration, hope and a sense of community. This online resource includes live chats with experts, current news, journal articles and an interactive discussion board.

Caring Voices is an online community for cancer survivors. The site can be used to access current resources, learn about upcoming survivorship events, take part in chats and discussions and meet other cancer survivors.

Cottage Dreams Cancer Recovery Initiative is a registered charity that offers recent cancer survivors the opportunity to spend a week at a private donated cottage to reconnect and rejuvenate with family and friends after completing treatment. For over a century, Canadian families have been finding peace, tranquility and inspiration in cottage country. Cottage Dreams was created with this in mind.

Nanny Angel Network is a volunteer service of professionally trained nannies who generously volunteer their time to provide quality compassionate relief child care – at no cost – to mothers diagnosed with breast cancer who are in treatment or in the early stages of recovery. This service is currently available in the Greater Toronto Area, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa.

Sharing Strength simplifies the process of finding information and support by connecting Canadians affected by breast cancer with trusted organizations and their quality resources and support services through it’s vibrant online community.

No Surrender is a survivor-created online support network with information, resources, analyses of recent research findings and more for individuals with various types or stages of breast cancer.

TellHER2.ca is a social network connecting Canadians affected by HER2+ breast cancer. Through the sharing of real-life experiences, TellHER2.ca provides much-needed support, information and community for the many women living with HER2+ breast cancer in Canada and beyond.

Wellspring is an innovative network of centres providing high-quality cancer support, education and coping skills to individuals, family members and professional caregivers in Canada.

Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada provides free information and emotional support for those impacted by breast cancer.

World Conference on Breast Cancer provides a unique opportunity for people concerned about breast cancer across the globe to convene and discuss common issues that impact survival and quality of life in an effort to advance global action on breast cancer.

Canadian Breast Cancer Network (CBCN) is a survivor-directed national network of organizations and individuals. CBCN is a national link between all groups and individuals concerned about breast cancer and represents the concerns of all Canadians affected by breast cancer and those at risk.

Local

Rethink Breast Cancer is a charity helping young people who are concerned about and affected by breast cancer through innovative breast cancer education, research and support programs. Rethink’s national and local support programs are for women in their 20s, 30s and early 40s who are living with and recovering from breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Supportive Care Foundation (Calgary) offers services from a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals who specialize in breast cancer care for women living with and recovering from breast cancer.

Compassionate Beauty (Calgary) provides women and their family & friends support, knowledge and services needed to best maintain their comfort, body image and self esteem during the months of treatment and through survivorship.  Services include prostheses fittings, wigs & wig alternatives and a range of spa services suited to those undergoing cancer treatments.

Couplelinks (Ontario) is an online education program geared to the practical and emotional needs of young couples coping with breast cancer (such as communication and intimacy, fertility concerns, communication with young children). The six-week online program is facilitated by a clinical psychologist. For information, contact the Project Coordinator, Dr. Wendy Carter, at (416) 480-6100, ext. 81447 or wendy.carter@sunnybrook.ca

Gilda’s Club (Toronto) provides a meeting place where men, women, teens and children living with cancer, as well as their families and friends, can join with others to build social and emotional support by participating in support and networking groups, lectures, workshops and social events.

Hope and Cope (Montreal) helps people cope with cancer. Guided by professional staff, cancer-experienced volunteers provide psychosocial support and practical resources that help patients regain a sense of control and well-being, reduce isolation and restore hope.

Kate’s Kitchen (Toronto) is FoodShare’s monthly free evening community kitchen for women who have experienced breast cancer. In this supportive environment, breast cancer survivors gather to cook, eat, laugh and spend a wonderful evening sharing resources, nutritional advice and cooking tips that promote healthy eating. For information, contact the program’s coordinator, Chandra Deen, at Foodsharecommunitykitchen@gmail.com or Alvin Rebick at alvin@foodshare.net or (416) 363-6441 ext. 251.

The Olive Branch of Hope Breast Cancer Support Services (Toronto) provides social, emotional and spiritual support for all women diagnosed with breast cancer, with a focus on women of colour and other immigrant women.

PYNK Young Women with Breast Cancer Program (Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre) (Toronto) is aimed at addressing the special clinical and research needs of younger women with breast cancer. Patients and families receive a continuum of care from the time of diagnosis through treatment and long-term follow-up with the support of a nurse navigator.

Venturing Out Beyond Our Cancer (VOBOC) (Montreal) is a not-for-profit charitable organization that provides ancillary oncology services to the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer population. VOBOC provides newly diagnosed AYA oncology patients (ages 15-39) with free diversions, resources and tools to help ease their cancer journey.

Education & Information

Body Image, Sexuality & Breast Cancer

Body Image After Breast Cancer (Toronto) is a study to test a new support group focused on helping women who have completed treatments for breast cancer and who have specific concerns about their body image and sexual functioning. The study is being offered through Princess Margaret Hospital and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Intimacy After Cancer: A woman’s guide (2006), a book by Dr. Sally Kydd & Dana Rowett.

My Body My Self – Body image & sexuality in women with cancer (2009), an article by Dr. Anne Katz.

Sex and Intimacy, an online resource of breastcancer.org

Sexuality, Intimacy and Breast Cancer, a booklet by Breast Cancer Care (UK) for any woman who has breast cancer and would like more information on how it may affect sexuality and sexual well-being.

Sexuality and Cancer: For the woman who has cancer, an online resource of the American Cancer Society.

Woman Cancer Sex (2009), a book by Dr. Anne Katz, is written as a self-help guide for women with cancer.

Breast Reconstruction

Breast Reconstruction, a booklet by Breast Cancer Care (UK) for women who have had or need to have part of a breast or one or both of their breasts removed to treat cancer. It may also be useful for women who are considering breast reconstruction for other reasons, such as uneven breast development or after breast removal to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer (if there is a significant family history).

Breast Reconstruction Resource List is a list by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada of books, films and online resources.

The Breast Restoration Program at University Health Network provides comprehensive treatment to post-mastectomy patients from all over Canada. Its mandate is to provide both timely access and quality care in breast reconstructive surgery.

UBC Hospital Vancouver, BC provides information about breast reconstruction, including definitions, methods and frequently asked questions.

Facing Hereditary Breast Cancer

BRCA1/BRCA2 Resource List is a list by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada of books, films, support groups and online resources.

Hereditary Breast & Ovarian Cancer Foundation is a community-oriented, volunteer-driven Canadian charity whose mission is awareness, action and research.

Hereditary Breast Cancer (2010), a booklet published by the Canadian Cancer Society.

The Facts on Hereditary Breast Cancer (2000), an online resource by Mary McCullum, RN, GSN, CON(C), Nurse Educator, Hereditary Cancer Program, BC Cancer Agency.

BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing, a digital National Cancer Institute fact sheet (USA).

Fertility & Breast Cancer

Fertile Future is a Canadian charitable organization that provides fertility preservation information and support services to cancer patients and oncology professionals.

Fertility Issues & Breast Cancer Treatment is a fact sheet by Breast Cancer Care (UK) for women who are concerned about breast cancer treatment and their fertility. It discusses how treatment may affect your fertility and ways of trying to preserve it. It also includes issues such as pregnancy after a diagnosis of breast cancer and permanent infertility.

Financial Assistance & Information for Breast Cancer Patients

Coping With Your Financial Concerns When You Have Breast Cancer (all provinces), created by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada, is the only comprehensive resource, customized for each province, to help people navigate the financial difficulties associated with breast cancer. 

Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation (Ontario) was established to help women/men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. There are many unforeseen expenses people may face, which their health insurance program may not cover. The foundation provides financial assistance to people in these situations in order to make their fight with cancer a little less challenging.

London Regional Cancer Centre (Southwestern Ontario): In partnership with the London Health Sciences Foundation through the Breast Cancer Support Services and the frontline Massel-Cruickshank fund, short-term financial assistance is provided for breast cancer patients at the London Regional Cancer Program. This includes expenses related to home and/or child care, wigs, transportation costs, therapies, living expenses and personal care, emergency incidentals – anything that assists in improving your quality of life.

Patient Financial Assistance Program (PFAP) (Alberta) provides short-term help for cancer patients so families can focus on recovery instead of how to pay for transportation or cover the cost of medications. Contact 1-866-408-5465

Living with Metastatic (Advanced/Secondary) Breast Cancer

Club Mets is an online support forum on the No Surrender website, described as “a safe place for metsisters to express their feelings, fears, treatments.”

I Still Buy Green Bananas is a booklet by Breast Cancer Network of Strength (USA) for women living with breast cancer that has spread to other parts of their body or is locally advanced. It shares stories of how women with metastatic breast cancer find hope, face each day, make medical decisions, give and get support from their families and friends, and how the experience of living with cancer has changed their lives.

Metastatic Breast Cancer Resource List is a list by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada of books, films, support groups and online resources.

Metastatic Support Group Calls for Young Women are offered by the Young Survival Coalition (USA) to help reduce the sense of isolation, provide information and address the unique issues faced by young women with metastatic breast cancer. The YSC provides information for women newly diagnosed with metastatic disease who need to know about advances in treatment and clinical trials, as with these advances in treatment, breast cancer may be managed as a chronic disease.

Navigating Your Path: A guide for people with advanced breast cancer (2005) is a booklet developed by a Canadian group of people with breast cancer experience, cancer navigators, provincial networks and the Canadian Breast Cancer Network for women who have been told they have advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Secondary Breast Cancer is a booklet by Breast Cancer Care (UK) for anyone who has had a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer. It may also be useful for family, friends or caregivers. It aims to help you understand what secondary breast cancer is and the physical and emotional impact it can have on you and those around you. It talks about living with the disease and coming to terms with the future.

Talking to Young Children about Breast Cancer

Books for Children is a list by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada.

Helping Children Cope Resource List is a list by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada of books, films, support groups and online resources.

Talking With Your Children About Breast Cancer is a booklet by Breast Cancer Care (UK) that explains what children can generally understand at different ages about a serious illness like cancer and how they may respond to the news that their mother has breast cancer. It doesn’t tell you exactly what to say to your children because every family is different, but it will give you some ideas about how to tell them and it describes other parents’ experiences.

What About My Kids: A Guide for Parents Living with Breast Cancer by Linda Corsini is a comprehensive resource addressing the broad range of issues and challenges that parents with young children might encounter throughout their breast cancer journey.

Rethink support

We have various specialized support and education programs across Canada.