This Latest Healthcare Partnership Will Serve Tennessee’s Second Largest City

WASHINGTON – The Cancer Support Community (CSC) has opened its newest location of Gilda’s Club at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) in Memphis, Tennessee. Located at the Methodist Cancer Institute on the campus of Methodist University Hospital in the Bluff City’s medical district, the healthcare system joins CSC’s global network that include CSC, Gilda’s Clubs, and healthcare partnerships that offer cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and loved ones access to free emotional support, healthy lifestyle activities, social connection, education, and referral services provided with compassion and expertise—in person or online.

According to data from the American Cancer Society, an estimated 42,200 people were diagnosed with cancer last year in Tennessee.

“The fear of cancer weighs heavy on the hearts and minds of our neighbors across the Mid-South,” said Kathleen Forbes, MD, executive vice president of MLH Academic Group, which includes Methodist University Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. “In addition to offering cutting-edge cancer treatment and exceptional clinical expertise, we are delighted to partner with the Cancer Support Community to support the emotional, physical and social wellness needs of all those facing cancer diagnoses, helping patients and families heal and thrive.”

“This hospital partnership underscores both CSC’s and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s commitment to providing compassionate comprehensive care to anyone experiencing a cancer diagnosis,” said CSC CEO Debbie Weir. “We are grateful that our location within the Methodist Cancer Institute makes vital services easier to access for those individuals who also receive cancer treatments and other medical services there and are thrilled to be able to serve all impacted people residing in Memphis, no matter where they are being treated.”

Gilda’s Club at the Methodist Cancer Institute is the most recent of CSC’s healthcare partnerships, which also includes, among others, Prisma Health, South Carolina’s largest health system; Orlando Health, a healthcare system that includes 23 hospitals and emergency departments across the southeastern United States; and Holy Name Medical Center, a comprehensive, 361-bed acute care facility serving New Jersey and the New York City area.

For more information on Gilda’s Club programming and activities, visit MethodistHealth.org/gildasclub. To learn more about healthcare partnerships, contact Janet Gruenberg at jgruenberg@cancersupportcommunity.org.

About the Cancer Support Community

As the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide, the Cancer Support Community (CSC), including its Gilda’s Club network partners, is dedicated to ensuring that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community. CSC achieves its mission through three areas: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy. The organization’s Institute for Excellence in Psychosocial Care includes an international network that offers the highest quality social and emotional support for people impacted by cancer, as well as a community of support available online and over the phone. The Research and Training Institute conducts cutting-edge psychosocial, behavioral, and survivorship research. CSC furthers its focus on patient advocacy through its Cancer Policy Institute, informing public policy in Washington, D.C. and across the nation. For more information, please call the toll-free Cancer Support Helpline at 888-793-9355 or visit www.CancerSupportCommunity.org.

About Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has been caring for patients and families regardless of their ability to pay for more than 100 years. Guided by roots in the United Methodist Church and founded in 1918 to help meet the growing need for quality healthcare in the greater Memphis area, MLH has grown from one hospital into a comprehensive healthcare system with 13,000 Associates supporting six hospitals, including nationally ranked Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient facilities, hospice residence and physician and specialty practices serving communities across the Mid-South. From transplants and advanced heart procedures to expert neurology services and compassionate cancer care, MLH offers clinical expertise with a focus on improving every life we touch.

CSC’s resources will now be available to local cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

Washington, D.C. – The Cancer Support Community (CSC) is announcing its newest network partner location, Cancer Support Community Massachusetts. Resulting from a merger between Facing Cancer Together and CSC, this new addition brings support, education, and activities to cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and their loved ones residing in the state of Massachusetts— all provided at no cost.

According to a report by the American Cancer Society, an estimated 42,190 people in Massachusetts received a new cancer diagnosis in 2022.

“People impacted by cancer feel like the rug has been pulled out from underneath them, affecting not just the individual but the entire family,” said Maureen Cardinal, the Executive Director of CSC Massachusetts. “With support from local foundations, philanthropists, businesses, dedicated volunteers, and the medical community, CSC Massachusetts is bringing leading-edge, free support to our area where the need is great.”

CSC Massachusetts offers connection, camaraderie, information, and empathy to people touched by cancer. A variety of free virtual programs are already available, including support groups for those with a cancer diagnosis and for caregivers, bereavement support groups for both adults and young adults, a Multiple Myeloma networking group, a writing class, and a painting class. A physical location is soon to come.

CSC Massachusetts joins the 190 CSC locations in the United States and beyond that form a network where cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and loved ones can access free emotional support, healthy lifestyle activities, social connection, education, and referral services provided with compassion and expertise — in person or online. The network has served over 1,673,029 participants since its inception.

Facing Cancer Together was originally founded by clinicians from The Wellness Community of Greater Boston and has provided cancer support services to the Boston area for fourteen years. For forty years, CSC has been dedicated to serving all people impacted by cancer in compassionate, innovative, and meaningful ways. In addition to providing support in their community, CSC’s network partners are presented with opportunities to join forces to advocate on issues important to cancer patients at the state and national levels and to contribute to important research that inspires positive change in cancer care and the patient experience.

“Maintaining operations of a small nonprofit has become increasingly difficult since the pandemic,” said Allison Moore, the former Board Chair of Facing Cancer Together. “We are fortunate for this opportunity to join the Cancer Support Community and benefit from their stability and resources. Our missions align beautifully, and we are delighted to join them to continue our important work with patients and families affected by cancer.”

This new location marks a further step in the CSC’s mission to serve more people in more locations.

“Boston is home to some of the world’s top oncology hospitals and innovative cancer research,” said CSC CEO Debbie Weir. “CSC Massachusetts joins a healthcare community that has long been committed to providing patient support and focuses on the patients’ needs and priorities as they face the challenges and complexities of a cancer diagnosis. Here in the Greater Boston area, we will replicate the proven model that exists around the country and beyond, while tailoring it to the specific needs of the community.”

To join the CSC Massachusetts community and find out more, go to: https://CancerSupportMass.org/ or call 617-797-3391.

About the Cancer Support Community

As the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide, the Cancer Support Community (CSC), including its Gilda’s Club network partners, is dedicated to ensuring that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community. CSC achieves its mission through three areas: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy. The organization’s Institute for Excellence in Psychosocial Care includes an international network that offers the highest quality social and emotional support for people impacted by cancer, as well as a community of support available online and over the phone. The Research and Training Institute conducts cutting-edge psychosocial, behavioral, and survivorship research. CSC furthers its focus on patient advocacy through its Cancer Policy Institute, informing public policy in Washington, D.C. and across the nation. For more information, please call the toll-free Cancer Support Helpline at 888-793-9355 or visit www.CancerSupportCommunity.org.