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survivorship and patient services Around-the-clock services provide information and support to newly diagnosed patients Hearing the words "you have cancer" can leave people feeling frightened, panicked, or uncertain. The American Cancer Society is here to help. As a national priority, the Society offers around-the-clock services, which include a nationwide helpline, 800-ACS-2345, and a comprehensive website, www.cancer.org. These services answer questions about cancer information and services, and provide support, hope, and comfort. 
The availability of these services enables patients to be proactive in their health and find information that caters to their cancer experience. "The 24/7 services are giving newly diagnosed patients the confidence that they can find out information that they need on their own. They help them to know they are taking care of themselves," Debbie Amey, the Society’s quality of life director for East Michigan, said. All calls to the Society’s helpline have been answered in person by a cancer information specialist at the National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) since it opened in 1997. E-mail sent to the center is also answered by the specialists. People call for many reasons including inquiries about donations, questions about cancer issues, and smoking cessation. The NCIC is also home to the Society’s Quitline program, the number one telephone cessation program in the country. To best meet the needs of the callers, the specialists are highly-trained and have several essential resources at their fingertips. One resource is the Cancer Information Database which contains an abundance of cancer-related information. This resource helps specialists talk callers through cancer risk factors, treatment options by stage, and what happens after treatment.  The Community Resource Database, which is available to both the specialists and on the Society’s website, is full of information about ongoing community programs and can be used to find specific resources, like prostheses or medical equipment, in any local community. Specialists can also put people directly in touch with their local office. To learn how to access the Community Resource Database on our website, see this month's Resource Highlight on the VOICES homepage .On www.cancer.org, the public can access some of the same information available to the specialists at the NCIC. Through the website, people can find information at their own pace. "Cancer is not a nine to five disease," Mollie Burchett, South Central Michigan’s quality of life director, said. "Cancer.org, like NCIC, makes the American Cancer Society accessible to every person 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, so it doesn’t matter when they have a question, they can get the answers." The website features a variety of message boards and hosts the Cancer Survivor’s Network, an online community that lets people affected by cancer communicate with others going through similar experiences. Cancer survivors and caregivers can participate in chat rooms and discussion groups, create their own web pages to tell their cancer stories, or read others’ stories. They can also share their favorite cancer resources by submitting it to the network’s resource library. No matter who you are, we can help. With 800-ACS-2345 and www.cancer.org, the American Cancer Society can help patients or anyone else no matter their location or their time of need. | |
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