About Us

Our Mission

CSC uplifts and strengthens people impacted by cancer by providing support, fostering compassionate communities, and breaking down barriers to care.

Our Vision

Everyone impacted by cancer receives the support they want and need throughout their experience.

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We Believe That Community Is Stronger Than Cancer

We are a relentless ally for anyone who is striving to manage the realities of this disruptive disease and get back to normal. 

No one can, or should, face cancer alone. 

While we have witnessed many significant advances in treating this devastating disease, nothing takes the place of the power, inspiration, companionship, and connection that comes from community. 

We are here to provide relevant and highly personalized support when and where it is needed most because Community Is Stronger Than Cancer. 

Our Story

40 years ago, our founders transformed the way our culture faces cancer. Today we are a global community of 190 locations providing personalized cancer support, all free of charge.

Find a Location Near You
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Our Global Network in Action

We are a global non-profit network of 190 locations, including CSC and Gilda's Club centers, hospital and clinic partnerships, and satellite locations that deliver more than $50 million in free support and navigation services to patients and families.

In addition, we administer a toll-free helpline, 888-793-9355, and produce award-winning educational and digital resources that, together with the locations, reach more than one million people each year. 

We also conduct cutting-edge research on the emotional, psychological, and financial journey of cancer patients and advocate at all levels of government for policies to help individuals whose lives have been disrupted by cancer.

Cancer Support Community and Gilda's Club logos
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Our Support of Inclusion and Equity for All

We believe in equity for all, including in health care, and fight every day to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect and have the opportunity to live healthy and safe lives — physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

We commit to listen, educate ourselves, and stand in solidarity with communities of color in these challenging times. We will create and maintain a climate of inclusion. We will hold our leaders, policymakers, and those in positions of power accountable with the expectation and conviction that these measures will end the inequalities we struggle with today and ensure that the opportunity to lead healthy and safe lives is within reach for all of us.

Learn More About Our Commitment to Health Equity

3 Pillars of Our Mission. 3 Institutes to Support Them.

Our three institutes help us improve medical outcomes and create better patient experiences.

Learn About Our Institutes

Our History and Growth

Our global network traces its roots to a yellow house in Santa Monica, California, where Harriet and Dr. Harold Benjamin transformed the way our culture faces cancer. 

After Harriet’s diagnosis with cancer in 1972, Dr. Benjamin sought to create a community that would provide social and emotional support to cancer patients and their families and friends — all free of charge.

In 1982, The Wellness Community opened its doors in Santa Monica, California.  

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Gilda's Club New York

Gilda Radner, the late comedian and one of the original cast members of “Saturday Night Live,” benefited from The Wellness Community after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986. Her experience inspired her to raise awareness about the need for similar support-focused organizations. Although Radner passed away in 1989, her husband, Gene Wilder, and Joanna Bull, along with other friends and family, answered her call to action. Together, they founded Gilda’s Club New York City and opened its iconic Red Door in 1995.

Gilda Radner and Harold Benjamin

Harold Benjamin and Gilda Radner

The Cancer Support Community

In 2007, the Institute of Medicine released Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs, emphasizing the importance of addressing the social and emotional needs of individuals facing cancer, rather than just their physical needs. The report underscored what The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club Worldwide, and its affiliate networks, had been doing for many years and sparked merger discussions between the two organizations to increase efficiencies and serve even more patients. 

In 2009, The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club Worldwide became one organization: Cancer Support Community. 

In 2018, we welcomed the Denver-based nonprofit MyLifeLine.org, a digital community of support that includes thousands of patients, caregivers, and their loved ones. The addition of MyLifeLine has enabled us to expand services in innovative, groundbreaking ways. And Patient Planning Services (PPS) joined the Cancer Support Community to work with health care providers and community organizations. We provide distress screening and other assessments on a digital platform that allows for both dynamic and static resource allocation in real time and triage of high-acuity patients while meeting accreditation standards.

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CSC Counters COVID-19

CSC is proud to share this Impact Index that documents how our community stepped forward to ensure our resources were able to reach individuals in need.

Learn More
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Are you interested in collaborating with CSC?

If you have an idea that aligns with CSC's mission and can help cancer patients or their loved ones, we want to hear from you.

Tell Us About It
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On Shelves Now

From CSC's former Executive Chair Kim Thiboldeaux, Your Cancer Road Map is a new, comprehensive guidebook for cancer patients, their families, and caregivers.

Order Your Copy Today
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Careers

Cancer Support Community is an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers positions with varying levels of responsibility for the development and support of our mission.

Join Our Team