Here is contact information about various breast cancer information organizations and support groups:

REACH TO RECOVERY:
The American Cancer Society's Reach to Recovery program offers special help for breast cancer patients. Trained volunteers, who have had breast cancer themselves, will visit you at your request and lend emotional support to you before and after your treatment.

They will talk with you and share their own experiences with breast cancer treatment, rehabilitation, and breast reconstruction or fitting of breast forms. Your local Reach To Recovery group can be contacted through your local chapter of the American Cancer Society. To find an American Cancer Society near you, check your local telephone book or contact the national office at the following address or phone number:

American Cancer Society National Headquarters 1599 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30329 1-800-ACS-2345

NABCO:
The National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (called NABCO) is a nonprofit organization that helps breast cancer patients get information to help them make informed decisions about treatment.

The mission statement describes NABCO as "a network of breast cancer organizations that provides information, assistance, and referral to anyone with questions about breast cancer, and acts as a voice for the interests and concerns of breast cancer survivors and women at risk." This organization also can help you find a local support group. Contact NABCO at the following address or phone number:

National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations 9 East 37th Street 10th Floor New York, NY 10016 (212) 719-0154

NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE:
Information about other programs and services for breast cancer patients and their families is available through the Cancer Information Service, which is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

You can contact NCI to speak with an information specialist about cancer (9am-5pm your local time), or order free cancer information publications and have them mailed to you. Contact NCI at the following address or phone number:

Office of Cancer Communications National Cancer Institute Building 31, Room 10A24 Bethesda, MD 20892 1-800-4-CANCER (Spanish-speaking staff members are also available)

NCCS:
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) is a network of cancer survivors and their organizations across the country. The NCCS helps cancer survivors and their families start local support groups or contact existing ones, sponsors a clearing-house of national resources for support and information on life after a cancer diagnosis, provides advice to reduce cancer-based discrimination, and serves as a unified voice of cancer survivors. To find a local NCCS group, contact the national office at the following address or phone number:

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship 1010 Wayne Avenue Silver Springs, MD 20910-5600 (301) 650-8868

ENCORE:
ENCORE stands for Encouragement, Normalcy, Counseling, Opportunity, Reaching Out, and Energies Revived. ENCORE is sponsored by the national YWCA, and is a program for post-operative breast cancer patients. The program includes exercise to music, water exercise, and a discussion period. A woman may join a group the third week after her surgery, with her health care provider's permission. For further information, check with your YWCA listed in the telephone book.

Y-ME:
Y-ME is "the largest and most comprehensive breast cancer support program in the country." Y-ME was founded in 1978 by two women because of their own experiences with breast cancer, and is a not-for-profit organization. Y-ME provides information, "hotline counseling," educational programs, and self-help meetings for breast cancer patients, as well as their families and friends. Contact Y-ME at the following address or phone numbers:

Y-Me National Headquarters 212 W. Van Buren St. Chicago, IL 60607 3908 (800) 221-2141 (9 - 5, M-F) (312) 986-8228 (24 hours)