An online group for young women with breast cancer: sparking online engagement

Younger women diagnosed with breast cancer express more psycho-emotional concerns than older women because younger women are facing problems with fertility, disruption to their young families, disruption to their careers, and lower libido during a time of higher sexual activity. Support groups create a place for younger women diagnosed with breast cancer to give and receive mutual aid. To meet the needs of younger women with breast cancer, an online support group was created by the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program. A SPARC grant from the International Association of Social Work with Groups (IASWG) helped the program reduce technology barriers to the online group, and help the program promote the group to community partners. The author, in the role of the support group facilitator, created a comfortable and confidential group space by embracing the needs of the clients, including the need for a flexible virtual meeting space. The ongoing facilitation of the online group impacted the support services provided by the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program, encouraging additional psychoeducational groups to be developed, and contributing to expanding online group services to meet the specific needs of all program clients when the program was forced to transition to online services due to the COVID-19 crisis striking the local community.