NCCC Publications & Books

A Guide to Developing & Sustaining Spanish Speaking Support Groups For Latinas Who Have Breast Cancer

Emotional support is crucial to the overall well-being of a person who has cancer.

A Guide to Developing and Sustaining Spanish Speaking Support Groups is a two-part comprehensive and practical reference guide offering culturally sensitive information for developing and sustaining Spanish-speaking support groups for Latinas with breast cancer.

Research shows that women with breast cancer cope better with the disease when receiving emotional support in addition to cancer treatment. Unfortunately, there are too few Spanish-speaking support groups available to Latinas who have breast cancer.

A Guide to Developing and Sustaining Spanish Speaking Support Groups addresses this need and provides guidelines about group facilitation issues and agency support concerns. This Guide is intended to help develop additional and long-lasting support groups for the Latino community.

Purposes and Benefits of Cancer Support Groups:

• Provide mutual support and understanding
• Provide role models
• Reduce emotional trauma
• Decrease loneliness and isolation
• Provide a safe, non-judgmental setting
• Assist effective communication
• Help with treatment side effects
• Instill hope and confidence
  

Part I: The Guide for Support Group Facilitators addresses various aspects of developing and running Spanish language support groups, offering insights and skills about how to be an effective facilitator.

Topics covered include:

• The basics: infrastructure, location, time, eligibility
• Stages of group development
• Facilitator and group models
• Assessments
• Crisis counseling
• Death and dying, closure, and rituals
  

Part II: The Guide for Community Organizations addresses the growing need for bilingual cancer support and the considerations and guidelines for starting a cancer support group program.

Topics covered include:

• Developing an infrastructure
• Fund development
• Hiring and supervising group facilitators
• Building community partnerships
• Strategic planning, outreach and marketing
• Recruiting and retaining group members
  

Back to NCCC Publications & Books home page.