Cancer Resources

About these resources

To assist patients, their families and the greater community in understanding the fight against cancer, California Cancer Associates for Research & Excellence (cCARE) is committed to delivering cancer resources and information to help everyone understand the many challenges cancer presents.

We created our website’s health library to help patients understand their symptoms and treatment options. These articles also provide information on the management and prevention of cancer.

The best cancer care requires addressing many factors, including financial and legal support, patient advocacy and other services. cCARE recommends the following services to meet the needs of patients and families.

Support groups

Support groups provide a safe place to share challenges and experiences, while learning from others facing similar circumstances.

  • CancerConnect.com: Cancer Connect provides current, comprehensive and authoritative information on the prevention, diagnosis and management of cancer. It is a community where patients can exchange information and get support and inspiration.
  • CanCare: CanCare matches trained cancer survivor volunteers and caregivers to newly diagnosed cancer patients or their caregivers for free, one-on-one, long-term emotional support. Clients are matched as closely as possible by age, gender, type of cancer and treatment.
  • Cancer Hope Network: Offers free, confidential one-to-one support to cancer patients undergoing cancer treatment and their families, using trained volunteers who have undergone a similar experience.
  • CancerCare: Provides free professional counseling, support groups, education and information, and referrals to cancer patients and their families to help them cope with the psychological and social consequences of cancer.
  • Children’s Treehouse Foundation: Founded in January of 2001 in Denver, Colorado, this is the nation’s only organization providing hospital-based, cancer-focused, psychosocial intervention training and programming dedicated to improving the emotional health of children whose parents have cancer. As such, the nonprofit organization has been granted 501(c)(3) status as a public charity by the Internal Revenue Service.
  • Look Good…Feel Better: Look Good…Feel Better is dedicated to improving the self-esteem and quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatment. It aims to improve their self-image and appearance through complimentary group, individual and self-help beauty sessions that create a sense of support, confidence, courage and community.
  • Moving For Life: Is a woman-led nonprofit organization with 12 years of leadership in the field of cancer recovery through exercise. They are movement therapists, exercise specialists, psychologists and doctors. Moving For Life is holistic and emphasizes self-awareness, self-respect and community. MFL programs began in NYC for women with breast cancer and are now around the nation and globe.
  • Ronald McDonald House: Offers a refuge from the hospital, a “home-away-from-home.”
  • SuperSibs!: Ensuring that siblings of children with cancer are honored, supported and recognized so they may face the future with strength, courage and hope.
  • Team Survivor: Team Survivor is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Affiliates provide group exercise and support programs for women with a present or past diagnosis of cancer. The National Association of Team Survivor (NATS) provides resources and guidance for affiliates to develop programs and communicate their missions within their local markets.
  • The Pregnant with Cancer Network: Hope for Two…The Pregnant with Cancer Network offers free support for women diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. They connect women with cancer who are currently pregnant with other women who have experienced a similar cancer diagnosis.
  • WeCanRow: WeCanRow is a recreational program for breast cancer survivors. Founded in 2002 in Boston, it’s an opportunity for women to experience their body’s strength in a new way, and to be part of a supportive community of others who have had similar experiences. WeCanRow helps women discover the healing power and joy of rowing, the ultimate team sport, as an adjunct to medical breast cancer treatment and physical therapy.
  • Vital Options International TeleSupport Cancer Network: The Group Room Radio Talk Show is a weekly syndicated call-in cancer talk show linking callers with other patients, long-term survivors, family members, physicians, researchers and therapists.

Advocacy groups

Cancer can be one of the most stressful experiences a person will ever go through. Understanding that one is not alone and is confronting anxieties and fears with others can help many patients cope with the emotional phases of cancer.

  • 4th Angel: Have you had a cancer diagnosis? So have the people at 4th Angel. Connect with a 4th Angel and talk to someone who understands.
  • AWomansHealth.com: Featuring in-depth healthy living articles, community, women’s magazine features, news and website exclusives that are easily accessible, AWomansHeatlh.com creates the most in-depth women’s health resource available today.
  • Brides Against Breast Cancer: Brides Against Breast Cancer contributes to programs for cancer patients and their families. Their outreach and educational efforts during their “Tour of Gowns” bridal shows around the country help ensure that people impacted by cancer have the resources and information they need in their battle with the disease.
  • Cancer Schmancer: Is fighting cancer a different way: CATCHING IT EARLY. By shifting this nation’s focus from just searching for a cure to education, prevention and early detection, we can save lives TODAY. By empowering both themselves and the women they love to become medical consumers, to listen to their bodies, ask the right questions of their doctors and seek second opinions, women can prevent cancer and, if they still end up with it, detect cancer in its earliest stages. At Cancer Schmancer, they aren’t reinventing the wheel, they are shedding light on a method that works to end mortality due to late stage diagnosis. And that’s EARLY DETECTION. Join them in saving lives.
  • Chemotherapy.com: A comprehensive online resource for understanding chemotherapy treatment and the management of side effects.
  • CureSearch for Children’s Cancer: CureSearch for Children’s Cancer is a national non-profit foundation whose mission is to fund and support children’s cancer research and provide information and resources to all those affected by children’s cancer.
  • FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered): FORCE is the only national nonprofit organization devoted to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Their mission includes support, education, advocacy, awareness and research specific to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Their programs serve anyone with a BRCA mutation or a family history of cancer.
  • International Cancer Alliance: ICARE is a nonprofit alliance of researchers, physicians and patients working together to promote substantive, understandable information programs on advanced treatment options.
  • National Cancer Institute: NCI is the U.S. government agency responsible for conducting and supporting research on cancer. Its website provides information about treatment, clinical trials and supportive care.
  • National Cancer Survivors Day (NCSD) Foundation: The Foundation provides education, legal counseling and referrals to cancer patients and survivors concerning managed care, insurance, financial issues, job discrimination and debt crisis matters.
  • National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship: Patient-led organization advocating on behalf of survivors of all types of cancer.
  • Ovarian Cancer National Alliance: The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance is the foremost advocate for women with ovarian cancer in the United States. To advance the interests of women with ovarian cancer, the Alliance advocates at a national level for increases in research funding for the development of an early detection test, improved health care practices and life-saving treatment protocols. The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance educates healthcare professionals and raises public awareness of the risks and symptoms of ovarian cancer.
  • Patient Advocate Foundation: Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides professional case management services to Americans with chronic, life-threatening and debilitating illnesses. PAF case managers, assisted by doctors and healthcare attorneys, serve as active liaisons between the patient and their insurer, employer and/or creditors to resolve insurance, job retention and/or debt crisis matters as they relate to their diagnosis. Patient Advocate Foundation seeks to safeguard patients through effective mediation, assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of their financial stability.
  • R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, Inc.: The Cancer Hotline matches newly diagnosed patients with someone who has survived the same cancer. Offers free information, lists of Multidisciplinary Second Opinion Centers, and the free books Fighting Cancer, Cancer… There’s Hope, and Guide for Cancer Supporters.
  • Stand Up To Cancer: Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C is bringing together the best and the brightest researchers and encouraging collaboration instead of competition among the entire cancer community. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C creates awareness and builds broad public support for this effort.
  • The Bone Marrow Foundation: The Bone Marrow Foundation offers financial assistance and free support services to bone marrow/stem cell transplant patients and their families. The foundation relies 100 percent on private donations to provide these vital services.
  • The Colon Club: Their goals are to educate as many people as possible, as early as possible, about the risk factors and symptoms of colorectal cancer and to encourage people to get screened when it’s appropriate for them.
  • The Oley Foundation: Provides free information and psychosocial support to patients fed by tube or IV at home who cannot be sustained by normal eating because part of their gastrointestinal tract is damaged or removed. However, it does not provide financial support or oral nutrition counseling.

Financial and travel assistance

Treatment and travel to your clinic can become an overwhelming expense. Here are some resources to make your journey easier.

  • Association of Community Cancer Centers: Leading education and advocacy organization that advocates for quality comprehensive cancer care for all patient assistance program and resource guide.
  • Fifth Season Financial Assistance: Fifth Season’s Funds for Living and Giving (FLAG) program provides people living with late stage cancer loans against their life insurance policy. The loan is designed to allow cancer patients and their families to focus on living each day to its fullest without the distractions of financial stress. To learn more, call toll-free (866) 459-1271 or visit www.fifthseasonfinancial.com.
  • Directory Of Financial Resources: Financial Resource Guide For Patients: A state-by-state directory.
  • Angel Flight: Angel Flight arranges free air transportation for charitable and medical needs.
  • Corporate Angel Network: Arranges free travel for cancer patients to treatment centers using the empty seats on corporate jets.
  • NeedyMeds.com: A site to learn about patient assistance programs and other programs designed to help those who can’t afford their medicines.
  • Medicare.gov: Official U.S. government site for people with Medicare.
  • Patient Advocate Foundation Co-Pay Relief Program: Patient Advocate Foundation’s Co-Pay Relief (CPR) program provides co-payment assistance for prescription drugs to insured Americans who financially and medically qualify. Services are provided through CPR call counselors, and payments are made to the designated payee upon approval. For more information about the PAF Co-Pay Relief Program, visit www.copays.org.

Clinical trial resources

Doctors and scientists use clinical trials to develop treatments and explore diseases such as cancer. The trials are volunteer-based and study new procedures and drugs.

cCARE proudly offers many institutional-grade clinical trials to our patients. Please visit our Clinical Trials & Cancer Research page for current trial listings. You can also find additional clinical trials information in the listings below.

Cancer journals

Please find a list of the top oncology journals below.

  • Blood: Journal of the American Society of Hematology.
  • Coping With Cancer: Coping magazine strives to enlighten and motivate readers to discuss issues with their physicians.
  • Cure: Cure magazine covers cancer updates, research and education.
  • Cancer Research: Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
  • JAMA: The American Medical Association’s primary organ for releasing medical information.
  • Journal of Clinical Oncology: Journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
  • Journal of Community Oncology: Community Oncology publishes articles related to clinical research in the community setting, the translation of research outcomes into delivery of high-quality care, and practice management issues.
  • New England Journal of Medicine: Peer reviewed journal.

General cancer information resources

Understanding symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and management of cancer is of utmost importance in the healing process. The following resources provide authoritative, comprehensive and current cancer information.

  • American Cancer Society: ACS is a nationwide, community-based organization with chartered divisions in every state. Phone: 1-800-ACS-2345.
  • American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO): The mission of ASTRO is to advance the practice of radiation oncology by promoting excellence in patient care, providing opportunities for educational and professional development, promoting research and disseminating research results and representing radiation oncology in a rapidly evolving socioeconomic healthcare environment.
  • By My Side: An Amgen sponsored patient website that provides a range of resources to help support patients undergoing chemotherapy.
  • Cancer Care: Cancer Care provides assistance free of charge to people with cancer.
  • Cancer Guide: Cancer Guide is a comprehensive information guide that helps patients identify the right questions to ask and where to find the most appropriate information for their situation.
  • CancerLinks: Provides comprehensive, informative links for different types of cancer.
  • The Cancer Profilers: If you have been searching for information about cancer treatment on the Web, you’ve probably discovered an abundance of information. Use these FREE interactive decision support tools to help answer the question, “What treatment options are right for me?” You will receive a personalized treatment options report tailored to your cancer diagnosis. Your report includes full descriptions of each relevant treatment option, side effects, questions to ask your physician, and more – all matched to your stage, medical history and treatment status.

Complementary and alternative medicine

Holistic approaches to cancer care, known as complementary and alternative medicine, are treatments used in combination with standard medical cancer treatments. Learn more about these treatments here.

cCARE’s Cancer Treatment Options.