Cancer Connections 
A critical part of caring for and healing patients with cancer
is helping them stay "connected." The staff of social
workers, nurses and volunteers at Enloe's Cancer Center unites to
provide these needed connections, whether to doctors, insurance
companies, family, friends or the community.
Education
Working as advocates for patients, the caring Cancer Connections
staff members offer assistance in finding educational
resources, transportation and nutritional support, or by just
being there to listen. The Cancer Center also holds classes
and special events related to cancer and its treatments.
Connecting Your Journey
Upon starting treatment at the Cancer Center, each patient is offered
a Connecting Your Journey binder with information and resources to use as a guide. As patients
visit with their physicians, have cancer tests ordered or receive
test results, they can add this information to their binders. This
gives patients one convenient place to keep everything, from their
appointment calendars to their instructions for care after surgery. These personal guides are made possible by generous donations to
the Enloe Foundation. The Connecting Your Journey binders are available from Cancer Connections, or you may download this electronic version to read and print out: Connecting Your Journey (This is a 48-page Adobe PDFdocument).
Help in the Home
Cancer Connections can call upon the resources of Enloe
HomeCare & Hospice, and help to screen eligibility and
expedite referrals for those programs. Enloe's multidisciplinary
team reviews patients to best meet their needs. For information
about help in the home, please call 530.332.3854.
Housing
For those patients and their families who need temporary housing
during the course of treatment, Cancer Connections can provide a
list of local motels, hotels and other facilities. Many proprietors
give preferential rates to patients and their families, and some
have extra services, such as meals and transportation. In addition,
Enloe offers the Arcadian House to patient families for a small
fee on a space-available basis. For information about housing,
please call 530.332.3854.
Support Groups and Programs
Cancer Connections understands that patients can support each other
in a group setting. To encourage this camaraderie, the Cancer Center
provides meeting spaces and refreshments for discussion groups.
Support groups and programs have included:
- Women's Cancer Support Group
- Journey to Hope, Ways to Cope, a support group open to individuals with a serious or chronic illness
- Speaking of Wellness, a library discussion
group that focuses on topics related to cancer or wellness and
features a book, speaker or both
- VIVA!, a support program for youth living
with loved ones who have cancer
- R.A.D.,
a recreational group for children with cancer and their families
For details, see Enloe's listing
of support groups and classes.
The Cancer Center also keeps a list of in-person, telephone and
online support groups that are available through other agencies,
such as the American Cancer Society. For more information,
please call 530.332.3855.
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