Monday, March 9, 2009

Point of Contact Program provides support

The YSC's Point of Contact Program, one facet of the YSC's ResourceLink peer support network, provides a young woman affected by breast cancer the opportunity to reach out to another young woman to discuss her breast cancer experience and find someone who can relate to her situation and understand her concerns.
The program is not just for the newly diagnosed but for all young women living with breast cancer. For example: a single woman preparing for a mastectomy; a Latina who would like to connect with others about cultural issues; a young, single woman living with metastatic disease; a young mother of two looking for advice on coping with fears of recurrence – anyl of them may call the YSC's ResourceLink Point o Contact program and be connected with someone with whom they can speak.
Any constituent who would like to speak with someone in the program may contact the YSC either by phone at 877.YSC.1011 or
email. Once a discussion regarding interests and concerns takes place, the YSC will search the Point of Contact database to find the best possible match and provide the Point of Contact volunteer with information about the constituent. Within 48 hours, the Point of Contact volunteer will contact the constituent for an informal conversation over the phone or via email.
YSC's Point of Contact database currently includes women who represent a range of personal situations and diagnoses, including women who: are partnered with other women; have breastfed after treatment; are living with metastatic disease; are estrogen receptor +/- or HER-2+; have had a double mastectomy, or an oophorectomy; or were diagnosed in their early 20s.
Those interested in becoming Points of Contact are asked to attend a weekend-long training which will help them gain knowledge of the YSC, learn more about breast cancer in young women and network with other program volunteers.
We encourage anyone interested in the program to download the
Point of Contact Volunteer Application (Microsoft Word document) or contact us directly at ResourceLink@youngsurvival.org or 877.YSC.1011.

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