Cancer Support Community

About

Cancer Support Community provides comprehensive integrative care—including counseling, support groups, nutrition, exercise and patient education programs—for people with cancer and their families or caregivers. Our services enable cancer patients to partner with their treatment team to manage their treatment and recovery most effectively, increase their chances for survival, reduce their chances of recurrence, and provide for the highest possible quality of life.

For nearly 30 years CSC has served the local community in our Walnut Creek Center. We opened a center in Antioch in 2020 to bring evidence-based, critical support services to East Contra Costa County.

Cancer’s impact is not limited to physical devastation. Cancer affects the whole person, the patient’s family, and even their entire social network. In recent decades, a growing body of evidence shows that people who get the kind of psychosocial care CSC provides are better able to handle stress and anxiety, have improved immune response and dietary habits, and have reduced physical symptoms.

Provided by trained professionals in their fields, our services are supportive of the patient’s medical care and treatment. Programs include:

• Emergency financial assistance
• Orientation sessions regularly throughout the year to introduce people diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers to the community and available resources
• Weekly support groups for people with any type of cancer
• Specialized support groups for people with similar experiences, including those with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, brain cancer, gynecologic/ovarian cancer, lung cancer, carcinoid/neuroendocrine and other cancers, and for life after cancer
• Support groups for caregivers, family members, and significant others
• Services for children whose parents have cancer
• Services for families with children with cancer
• Creative expression, stress reduction and specialized exercise programs, such as yoga and guided imagery
• Workshops on topics such as nutrition, treatment advances, and complementary therapies
• Symposia developed by national experts on critical topics for people with cancer and educational series for intensive training on managing treatment and recovery