Cancer Resources

Many people (both patients and the people around them) associate cancer with hair loss, even if it isn't applicable to some types of cancer.

For breast cancer, most types of chemo will result in hair loss, which may be the first outward sign, for you as a patient or caregiver, that something isn't quite right. Prior to hair loss, the cancer was not as "visible". For many people with breast cancer, hair loss makes the whole experience more real. 

The fact that you may be missing all or part of at least one breast is yet another piece of the breast cancer puzzle. Until you've been through it, you don't know what it will be like and how you will react to it. 

And there is no right or wrong way to deal with cancer. Everyone is unique just as the experiences associated with cancer are unique. What works for one person may not work for someone else. Hopefully, with a range of resources, you can find the answers that you need.  

If you haven't read my book to "When Cancer Takes Flight...A humourous look at the turbulence of breast cancer", please check it out.  

What Internet sites should I use, if I decide to go there?

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You may think big, but take small steps when collecting information. Many women stop using the internet once the fear it introduces is greater than the need to find answers. I was one of those women. Now that I am considered a survivor, I am less afraid (some fear still exists) to go on the Internet and I have come across sites I would have found useful during the diagnosis and treatment stages of my journey. No one gave me a list, so I am hoping that if I provide you with a series of links, you can go to a link, return to this site, and then go to another link. This should reduce the odds that you will find something you really don't want to see.

Use these links and you don't have to do a search and risk accessing and seeing information that you don't want to see. These are trusted sites, so you know that the information you see is accurate.

Medical Information
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Chemo-Specific Sites
Support Groups/Forums/Blogs/Facebook Groups
  • CancerConnection.ca: forum for communicating with other cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. I use this site regularly. This forum is associated with the Canadian Cancer Society and provides information and support about many types of cancer. ​​
  • Willow: Breast and Hereditary Cancer Support
  • ELLICSR: Health, Wellness, and Suvivorship Centre (Toronto area)
  • Facebook Groups (for example, Breast Cancer Straight Talk Support, After Breast Cancer - Support The Girls!, Breast Cancer Slayers & Survivors!, Breast Cancer Survivor). These are closed groups that are meant for women who have or have had breast cancer. There are many more groups if you do a search; however, with Facebook groups, remember that information supplied is not necessarily medically accurate or applicable to you and your current situation. The benefit of these types of groups is that you are communicating with people who have been or are currently going through the cancer experience.  
Other Information
  • Caringbridge.com is where you can share information and status reports with family and friends. 
  • ​Back to the Future in Health: complementary medicine I used when going through my cancer treatments
  • How Stuff Works has multiple articles about how laughter (even forced laughter) can have a positive impact on the human body

Laughter is a lifestyle choice