About Us
Mission
To ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community.
Welcome to Our Family
Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area is located in Walnut Creek. As part of an international non-profit organization, Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area takes its place with 50 local affiliates, more than 100 satellite locations and an online virtual community. Cancer Support Community is dedicated to providing support, education and hope to all people affected by cancer. Its global network brings the highest quality cancer support to millions of people touched by cancer. To find the Cancer Support Community closest to you, visit www.cancersupportcommunity.org.
We Believe in Your Ability to Survive
“As a cancer survivor, I understand the emotional and social impact of this disease. So does the Cancer Support Community. The organization’s work is critical as it helps optimize patient care by providing essential, but often overlooked, services that complete the cancer care plan."
—Ted Kennedy, Jr.
To ensure no one has to face cancer alone, Cancer Support Community brings support, education and hope to thousands of people and families facing cancer in the Bay Area. Evidence-based services complement medical treatment and have been found to enhance recovery and improve the quality of life for people affected by this disease.
As the number of cancer survivors in the United States surpasses 12 million, the demand for support services throughout the continuum of care is increasing. The Cancer Support Community is poised to help meet these needs through innovative and comprehensive offerings to those affected by cancer. Until there's a cure, there's Cancer Support Community.
Our History
Since 1990, Cancer Support Community has offered the San Francisco Bay Area a unique menu of services under one umbrella: professionally facilitated support and networking groups,
mind/body/exercise classes, educational programs, and a variety of social activities. In addition, special programs bring this same high level of service to Spanish speakers and children/teenagers whose parents have cancer.
In addition to our warm, home-like facility, we also provide services in medical centers and other community locations, including Pittsburg, Mountain View, San Pablo, San Ramon, and Vallejo.
Known for twenty years as The Wellness Community, a name change to Cancer Support Community was made in October 2010. This change marked the uniting of two well-known non-profits serving those with cancer — The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club. United under a new, combined identity, Cancer Support Community is now the largest professionally-led network of cancer support worldwide (view the 2010 Annual Report).
While an affiliate of the international Cancer Support Community organization, we are an independent nonprofit corporation, so all of funds raised locally support people affected by cancer in the local community. The international Cancer Support Community coordinates a federation that certifies affiliates and provides quality assurance for our mission delivery. Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area is the only affiliate in Northern California, and our organization was the first to be designated in the federation as a Center of Excellence.
Ushering in a New Era of Cancer Care
The Cancer Support Community is strengthening the link between medical and emotional health. Backed by evidence that the best cancer care includes emotional and social support, the organization is leading the charge to define and implement a new standard of cancer care. In 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a ground breaking report, Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs, which declared psychosocial support an essential part of cancer care. The report goes on to state that community-based nonprofit organizations are crucial to delivering this support and need to be better incorporated into the continuum of care. This report validated what the organization has known and worked hard to deliver for more than 25 years. Taking the lead in addressing the emotional and social needs of people affected by cancer, the Cancer Support Community’s unique model of community-based support is transforming the way cancer care is being approached. As such, advocacy groups across the globe have used our organization’s landmark programs — including support groups, educational and survivorship programs and an online community — as a guide for delivering support.
Visit the international Cancer Support Community website at www.cancersupportcommunity.org.
