Finding Your Way: Living with Cancer [Rock Row]

Overview

This is an eight-week in-person support and learning series for adults with a diagnosis of cancer. Each session will combine education and practical tools with meaningful group conversation and peer support, creating an opportunity to learn new ways of navigating the emotional and relational challenges you may be facing, while connecting with others who have been impacted by cancer.

Together, we’ll explore topics such as emotional adjustment, living with uncertainty, family and caregiving dynamics, identity and life changes, and the pressure to “stay positive.” Two sessions will be shaped by the interests and needs of the group.

Session Themes:
October 6 — Welcome & Building Our Group
Get to know one another, learn about the group, and identify the questions and concerns participants most want to explore together.

October 13 — Emotional Adjustment: Making Room for the Whole Range of Feelings
Talk about the wide range of emotions that can accompany cancer, ways of managing difficult feelings, and the pressure to “stay positive.”

October 20 — Living With Uncertainty
Learn ways to navigate the uncertainty that can accompany diagnosis, treatment, test results, and the future.

October 27 — Cancer & Relationships: Family, Partners & Caregiving
Consider how cancer can affect communication, roles, independence, intimacy, and relationships.

November 3 — Identity, Loss & Finding Your Way Forward
Explore changes in identity, daily life, and expectations, and discuss what it means to move forward when cancer has shifted your sense of who you are or what the future may hold.

November 10 — A Theme Chosen by the Group
A session shaped by the interests, questions, and needs that emerge from this particular group.

November 17 — A Theme Chosen by the Group
Another opportunity for participants to determine what feels most meaningful and useful to explore together.

November 24 — Looking Back, Looking Forward & Saying Goodbye
Reflect on what participants have learned and taken away from the group, what they want to carry forward, and the experience of sharing this eight-week journey together.

Led by Dempsey Center volunteer Emily Porensky, PhD – Clinical Psychology.