About Cancer Support Community
Q: What is the Cancer Support Community?Q: Who uses the Cancer Support Community?Q: What does it cost to participate?Q: Can support people come even if the person with cancer doesn’t want to?
Q: Do participants follow specific programs?Q: Is there research to support what you do?Q: Is the Cancer Support Community program an alternative to medical treatment?Q: Are medical services available at the Cancer Support Community?Q: Where are you located? Do provide your programs only in one location?
Q: I really appreciate the work you do. How can I help?
A: The Cancer Support Community is a not-for-profit organization that provides psychological and social support for people with cancer and their families. Our services include weekly support groups, stress management programs, educational workshops, and social activities.
A: Individuals with cancer who want to improve the quality of their lives and be active partners along with their physicians and healthcare teams. Their friends, support-givers, and loved ones also come to participate in programs specially designed for them. People who have had cancer and have completed medical treatments also attend to maintain their health while focusing on survivorship issues. No physician’s referral is needed.
A: Absolutely nothing…all programs and services are FREE. The Cancer Support Community is a not-for-profit organization and does not charge for any of its services. Financial support is obtained through tax-deductible contributions from generous individuals, community-minded businesses, charitable foundations, and from special fundraising events.
A: Of course! We have specific groups solely for family and friends of the person with cancer, where they can share their experiences, learn how to best support the person with cancer, and also take care of themselves. Also, support people are welcome to attend all other parts of the program, such as educational workshops and stress management classes.
About Cancer Support Community Programs
Q: If I don’t want to be in a support group, can I still attend other programs?A: While support groups can be very helpful for people living with cancer, they are not for everyone. We invite you to attend any programs, workshops, and educational presentations that you find helpful. In most cases, no appointment is necessary, but please refer to our program calendar to see if you need to register for a particular event.
A: Not necessarily…participants decide for themselves which parts of the various programs will help them improve their own well-being. Participants are never asked to participate in any activity that they are not entirely comfortable with. Some may choose to simply visit the Cancer Support Community rather than be alone.
A: All the programs at the Cancer Support Community are based on mind/body research which shows that what you think and feel can have an effect on the immune system.
A: No. The program is meant to support the treatment prescribed by a patient’s healthcare team and is not a substitute for conventional medical care. Many physicians refer their patients to the Cancer Support Community as a complement to their medical regimen.
A: No. The Cancer Support Community does not have a medical staff. Individuals seek their own medical treatment as they deem necessary. The Cancer Support Community helps people with cancer and their loved ones by providing a professional program or emotional support, education, and hope. All our support groups are led by trained, licensed psychotherapists.
A: Our main facility is located in Westlake Village, at 530 Hampshire Road. We also offer various programs in Camarillo, Oxnard (programs in Spanish), and Ventura (programs in Spanish). Please refer to our program calendar for details.
More Information & How You Can Help
Q: How can I find out more about the Cancer Support Community?A: We invite you to attend an Orientation Meeting at the Cancer Support Community to visit “our home,” meet some of the staff and to learn more about our programs. Held in our Westlake Village facility and in certain other locations, the meetings are led by a cancer survivor and/or family member who has been involved in our program. Please refer to our program calendar for locations, dates, and times. No appointment is necessary and friends and family are welcome to attend.
A: Since our programs are free of charge, you can best help us by donating funds or by volunteering your services, so that a bigger share of the donations we receive can be used for participant programs. Here are some ways volunteers help our organization:
- Answering the telephone
- Serving as a receptionist
- Folding and stuffing bulk mailings such as the calendar, invitations, etc.
- Office duties – data entry, telephoning, etc.
- Helping with special fundraising events
- Serving on fundraising committees
- Community speaking, health fairs, delivering packets to physicians’ offices
- Grant writing and research
- Library indexing, etc.
- Providing landscape maintenance
- Providing printing and design services
If you could help us in such areas, please fill out the volunteer profile form.
If you’d like to donate funds, please click here.
The Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara provides professional programs of emotional support, education and hope for people affected by cancer at no charge so that no one faces cancer alone. We serve West San Fernando Valley and Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Our main office is in Westlake Village with a satellite in Winnetka and offsite programs in Sylmar, at Olive New UCLA Medical Center, and in Ventura, at Ventura County Medical Center. We are proud of our hospital partnerships with the Cancer Resource Center at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and at the Cancer Center at St John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and St John’s Pleasant Valley in Camarillo.
Our programs provide a full-range of support and education for adults and children with cancer, their loved ones, and caregivers. Programs are provided in English and Spanish and include in orientation, groups for cancer survivors, family groups, groups for people beyond the day-to-day fight, cancer specific groups such as brain tumors, gynecological cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, Leukemia/lymphoma and melanoma. We also offer Kids and Teen Circle for children and teens affected by cancer, bereavement groups, and a buddy program.
We service over 40 Southern California cities including: Agoura Hills, Oxnard, Calabasas, Santa Barbara, Camarillo, Canoga Park, Simi Valley, Carpenteria, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Sylmar, Tarzana, Los Angeles, Thousand Oaks, Malibu, Valencia, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Van Nuys, Ventura, Newhall, Westlake Village, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills.