The benefits of support groups

 When I was young and naïve and heard of the concept of support groups for the first time I immediately put them into the humbug corner. Why on earth would it make an awful situation better, when you go to a group of people and talk about it. What I did not knew back then was first of all, that there are specific support groups for all sorts of struggles and problems but also I had no idea how much comfort you can get out of a single conversation with somebody who knows exactly what you are going through. Either because they have been affected by the same hit of fate or because they have been involved into that topic directly.

With all the challenges that life has thrown at me the need to talk about it with somebody who actually understands grew in relation to the number of people who would just nod and say "This will pass". I did learn eventually how important support groups can be. When I was diagnosed with cancer I immediately started looking for a group close to me where I could go to and talk but the offer was very scarce. They did not meet very often or not at all and all of them were too far away for me to reach. Therefore, as soon as I have finished my treatment I started a group myself in a café not far from my home.

Now we have a local cancer support group, where everybody is welcome and have a safe space to talk, cry, laugh, share or listen and I hope I can keep that alive as long as possible. The feedback I get is always the same, how important and valued this group is for people who going through cancer or their loved ones.