Social support is the emotional support, practical help, advice and other benefits that you get from interactions with people—your co-survivors. Co-survivors may include family members, spiritual advisors, friends, co-workers, colleagues, health care providers and others living with cancer.
Co-survivors give support in many different ways. For example, an oncologist provides information, hope and advice about treatment options. Friends and family may give practical help, like offering rides to and from treatments or helping with cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, child care and looking up information on the Internet. They may also give emotional support that can help boost your sense of self-worth and help you feel loved, cared for and understood. Social support may be as informal as a sympathetic ear of a close friend, or as formal as a survivors' support group or going to see a therapist. For more on being a co-survivor, visit the Friends and Family section.
Updated 05/13/09
