After a summer hiatus for July and August the Kamsack Cancer Self Help Group will again begin meeting on September 21.
Everyone agrees that a diagnosis of cancer can be an intimidating and confusing diagnosis for anyone to receive. Cancer is sometimes difficult to diagnose, and very difficult to prognosticate. The treatments can be very hard on the patient, and the outcome can be somewhat uncertain.
Early detection and timely treatment usually significantly improves the prognosis of anyone diagnosed with cancer, according to information from the self-help group. That is why people are urged to be pro-active about noticing physical signs and symptoms that occur, sometimes suddenly, but usually over time, and seem out of the ordinary.
It is best to make an appointment and have one’s family physician do an assessment, the information said.
When a person is diagnosed with cancer, it sometimes helps to have someone to talk with; someone who has gone through the diagnosis and treatment for the disease, it said. Support groups have been proven to be beneficial for that very reason.
In 2002 the Kamsack Cancer Self Help Group was organized by two women who had both been diagnosed and treated for cancer. Marleen Brock and Janice Derwores both saw a need for a local support group and decided to make it happen.
With the help of Susan Leis of Community Services, and Ken Orban of the Canadian Cancer Society, the very first meeting was held in the Kamsack Seniors’ Centre on September 10, 2002, with eight people in attendance.
These days, the support group meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. in the boardroom of the Sunrise Health Region office on Queen Elizabeth Boulevard East.
For each meeting, the goal is to have a guest speaker to provide those in attendance with educational information relevant to dealing with a diagnosis of cancer, it said. Sharing knowledge and experiences, as well as providing information will give people the confidence to help themselves as they navigate through their treatment and recovery.
The meetings are open to anyone whose life has been impacted by a diagnosis of cancer: those who are newly diagnosed, survivors, caregivers or family members who wish to have a safe and confidential environment to ask questions and get information, it said.
It has been said that cancer does not happen to one person, but to the whole family.
The group holds an annual fundraiser once a year and has in the past submitted the proceeds to the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles, whose annual missions have raised more than $2.3 million for cancer research, and the Victoria’s Quilts for Cancer, an organization that provides hand-made quilts to people living with cancer in Canada.
If anyone has any questions about the group they may contact Derwores at or Adeline Nykolaishen.
