Support Organizations

There's a Certified Mastectomy Fitter in Chicago, Pattie Cagney Sheehan, owner of Second Act. While the prostheses are not low-cost, many insurance providers cover them. Here's the information for Second Act:

3020 N. Lincoln Avenue

Chicago, IL 60657-4208

phone: 773.525.2228

mobile: 312.560.3076

fax: 773.348.2228

pattie@secondactchicago.com

www.secondactchicago.com

The following are resources that provide free breast prostheses:

Breast Cancer Network of Strength , formally known as Y-ME helps breast cancer patients and survivors regain their sense of well-being and self-confidence by providing bras, wigs, and/or prostheses at no cost to those with limited financial resources. www.y-me.org or 1-800-221-2141

CancerCare under their Women's Cancer Program, offers financial assistance and counseling, support groups, and patient education. They also provide free wigs and breast prostheses to women who have lost their hair or a breast as a result of their cancer treatment. 1-800-813-HOPE (4673)

Crickett's Answer for Cancer 1-301-935-4411 provides free wigs, mastectomy products, mastectomy and lymphedema massage, facials, and other pampering services, as a way to keep a woman feeling feminine and beautiful despite losing her hair and/or breasts.

We are very lucky to have the Sweet Louise organisation here in New Zealand. It was founded by the Louise Perkins Foundation in memory of Louise,a young woman who died of metastatic breast cancer after a long illness. The foundation was founded to support other women going through similar circumstances.
Some of the support services it provides are a private closed online forum for members to talk to each other, monthly meetings in 3 of our main cities and support co-ordinators that can help woman in a variety of ways. There is also a voucher system that gives each women a certain amount of vouchers to spend every 6 months on services to help them. They may be used on a variety of services such as home handyman work around the house, complementary therapies or pampering as a special treat.
The opportunity to meet with other women dealing with the same issues of metastatic disease is invaluable, and recently we banded together to contribute to a book of short stories and poems about what it was like living with secondary breast cancer. This has been published under the title 'Oysters for Lunch' and is available from the Sweet Louise website.
Sweet Louise has been a great support to me in dealing with ongoing treatment, the support from both the organisation itself and the other women with metastatic disease who are members is wonderful and I am very grateful for it We are very lucky to have the Sweet Louise organisation here in New Zealand. It was founded by the Louise Perkins Foundation in memory of Louise,a young woman who died of metastatic breast cancer after a long illness. The foundation was founded to support other women going through similar circumstances.
Some of the support services it provides are a private closed online forum for members to talk to each other, monthly meetings in 3 of our main cities and support co-ordinators that can help woman in a variety of ways. There is also a voucher system that gives each women a certain amount of vouchers to spend every 6 months on services to help them. They may be used on a variety of services such as home handyman work around the house, complementary therapies or pampering as a special treat.
The opportunity to meet with other women dealing with the same issues of metastatic disease is invaluable, and recently we banded together to contribute to a book of short stories and poems about what it was like living with secondary breast cancer. This has been published under the title 'Oysters for Lunch' and is available from the Sweet Louise website.
Sweet Louise has been a great support to me in dealing with ongoing treatment, the support from both the organisation itself and the other women with metastatic disease who are members is wonderful and I am very grateful for it

The Visiting Nurses Association in your area are also very helpful. They come right to the home and help with medical as well as day-day, life issues. The first place to look would be the social work department in the hospital you are being treated at. If you are a breast cancer patient you have many of organizations that help....SHARE, the American Cancer Society, Gilda Club ect.

Online support is a great option too....TalkAboutHealth is a great place to start!!

At Columbia Presbyterian I work with Women At Risk, an organization that supports women with breast cancer. I run a support group and we also have a volunteer library staffed by survivors.

We provide physical "Bags of Information" about all types of Cancer to communities that may not have access to a computer. We provide physical "Bags of Information" about all types of Cancer to communities that may not have access to a computer.

Hi,

Before I can give a through answer I'd like to be able to ask a few more questions of you--but since that is not possible I'm going to answer with what I know.

I would suggest taking him to a neurologist for an examination: talk to his doctor and ask for a referral. That is the only way one can be sure if, and what type, of neurological problems he may be facing. As far as the possible ADD (actually ADHD, ADD is no longer used as a formal diagnosis by professionals), it very well could be that he has it and also has something else going on. A child having ADHD would not typically result in the sort of processing errors you describe ("slow" writing and typing).

So that is my general reply but there are many things I am curious about. That said, a through exam by a neurologist would give you the answers you need. Good luck.

Hi,

Before I can give a through answer I'd like to be able to ask a few more questions of you--but since that is not possible I'm going to answer with what I know.

I would suggest taking him to a neurologist for an examination: talk to his doctor and ask for a referral. That is the only way one can be sure if, and what type, of neurological problems he may be facing. As far as the possible ADD (actually ADHD, ADD is no longer used as a formal diagnosis by professionals), it very well could be that he has it and also has something else going on. A child having ADHD would not typically result in the sort of processing errors you describe ("slow" writing and typing).

So that is my general reply but there are many things I am curious about. That said, a through exam by a neurologist would give you the answers you need. Good luck.

It is important to meet and develop relationships with others who understand what you are going through. There are quite a few resources for this.

Support Groups: contact your local hospitals, clinics, churches, etc. to find local groups. You may also reach out to organizations such as the American Cancer Society or Komen Foundation. They maintain lists of support groups. Of course you can also search google (i.e. breast cancer support groups). Sometimes it may take some time to find a support group where you feel comfortable. If you would like to potentially start your own support group, the American Self-Help Clearinghouse (http://www.cmhc.com/selfhelp/) has information, models, and advice.

Cancer Hotlines: if you need emotional support from someone trained to help, a couple of options are Share (http://www.sharecancersupport.org/) and Network of Strength (www.networkofstrength.org)

Online chat rooms and discussion boards: There are numerous chat rooms and discussion boards including http://TalkAboutHealth.com, http://breastcancer.org and http://www.bcsupport.org/. It is important to meet and develop relationships with others who understand what you are going through. There are quite a few resources for this.

Support Groups: contact your local hospitals, clinics, churches, etc. to find local groups. You may also reach out to organizations such as the American Cancer Society or Komen Foundation. They maintain lists of support groups. Of course you can also search google (i.e. breast cancer support groups). Sometimes it may take some time to find a support group where you feel comfortable. If you would like to potentially start your own support group, the American Self-Help Clearinghouse (http://www.cmhc.com/selfhelp/) has information, models, and advice.

Cancer Hotlines: if you need emotional support from someone trained to help, a couple of options are Share (http://www.sharecancersupport.org/) and Network of Strength (www.networkofstrength.org)

Online chat rooms and discussion boards: There are numerous chat rooms and discussion boards including http://TalkAboutHealth.com, http://breastcancer.org and http://www.bcsupport.org/.