Cancer Support Community
Cancer Support Community Logo
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| Non-Profit | |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founders | Harold and Harriet Benjamin,Gene Wilder, Joanna Bull |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
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Areas served
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United States, Canada, Israel and Japan |
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Key people
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Kim Thiboldeaux (CEO), Jill Durovsik (Board Chair), Linda House (President) |
| Website | http://www.cancersupportcommunity.org |
The Cancer Support Community, or CSC, is the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide. CSC provides emotional and social support to people affected by cancer through its affiliate locations across the United States and worldwide, as well as online and over the phone. CSC was founded in 2009 from a merging of Gilda's Club and The Wellness Community.
CSC’s mission is to ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action and sustained by community. This mission is accomplished through direct service delivery, research and advocacy.
The Cancer Support Community formed in 2009 following the merger of The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club The Wellness Community was founded in 1982 by Harold and Harriet Benjamin in California. They wanted to create something that had previously been missing in cancer care—an organization that would provide social and emotional support to cancer patients, their families, friends and caregivers. Gilda’s Club was founded in 1991 in honor of Saturday Night Live comedian and former ovarian cancer patient, Gilda Radner, after her passing, by her husband, Gene Wilder, and Joanna Bull with other friends and family. Gilda’s Club opened locations to provide social and emotional support for people living with cancer nationwide while the Wellness Community locations remained on the West Coast.
In 2007 the Institute of Medicine released a pivotal report on the importance of addressing the social and emotional needs of individuals living with cancer, which was a practice both the Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club had been implementing for years. Not long after, to be able to better serve more individuals living with cancer, the Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club merged to become the Cancer Support Community.
The Cancer Support Community provides a toll-free Cancer Support Helpline for anyone affected by cancer. The Helpline is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and can be reached at 1-888-793-9355.
The Cancer Support Affiliate Network consists of 44 licensed affiliates, 170 locations and a growing number of health care partnerships. Affiliates provide programs free of charge to anyone affected by cancer, including patients, survivors, caregivers, loved ones and children. These programs include support groups, educational sessions and health and wellness programs.
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