Group Loop

Group Loop is an innovative and groundbreaking program of The Wellness Community (TWC) to provide online support for teens with cancer and their parents. In addition to Online Support Groups (OSGs), Group Loop offers valuable resources and information for teens with cancer. With TWC's global leadership in online support for adults with cancer, The Wellness Community turned to international experts in psychosocial care for teens and families to help develop Group Loop. Dr. Ernest R. Katz at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, together with Dr. Aura Kuperberg, his colleague and founder of the premier Teen Impact support program for teenagers, made sure Group Loop was designed to meet the needs of this important age group.

Group Loop is a safe place online for teens with cancer away from the daily pressures of classes, after school activities, family and work responsibilities, let alone treatment schedules. Many teens with cancer are unable to leave their homes, drive cars, or attend social activities. Group Loop will serve as a unique place for teens with cancer to “connect” with other teens and forge friendships while battling unwanted aloneness, loss of control and loss of hope associated with the disease.

Independence during teenage years is crucial to growth and development and is often lost with the diagnosis of cancer. Group Loop restores a level of independence to teens through Online Support Groups they can access in their own homes or in the hospital—anyplace with a computer and Internet access. In addition, Group Loop offers Online Support Groups for parents of teens with cancer. This is a place for the parents to come together and talk with other parents who are experiencing many of the same issues.

Group Loop harnesses the power of the Internet to build a nationwide support network for teens and their parents. This innovative program will give support during their fight and help them regain a sense of control over their lives.

Here at Group Loop you will find free support and information for teens and parents of teens with cancer. Among the features of Group Loop:

Online Support Groups—free, password protected weekly groups led by trained professionals for teens with cancer and their parents. To join a support group click here.
Discussion Boards—available 24 hours a day where teens can post messages and share with other teens with cancer. To join a discussion board click here.
My Group Loop—is your place to get in the loop and talk with teens with cancer and manage your level of involvement with the site.
Information about Cancer, School and You—learn about how to manage your life when you return to school. Click here to learn more now.
Relax—download an audio tape to help you relax, feel better and reduce stress. Click here to relax.
Family room—a place for parents of teens with cancer to join an Online Support Group. Click here to enter the family room.
Resources—find other information about cancer and where to get help. Click here for resources.
In the loop—stay in the loop with the latest news and information. Submit your picture and cancer story to share with others on the website. We will feature various teens with cancer on In the loop throughout the year. Click here to get In the loop.

To learn more about services for adults at The Virtual Wellness Community click here.

Did You Know?

There are over 40,000 adolescents living in the US with cancer. (Institute of Medicine August 2003)
This year 6,324 teens will be diagnosed with cancer in the US. (Archie Bleyer, MD, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center)
Treatment and cure of cancer in teens has advanced dramatically over the last 25 years, and it is generally considered to be a treatable chronic illness. However, it is still life-treatening and requires intensive comprehensive care that may extend over months and years. Advances in cancer care for teens need to keep pace with the cure rate in cancer for younger children. Much work remains to get teens into the best treatment programs available for their special types of cancer, to insure that more and more teens continue to win their battles against these illnesses.
Parents of teens with cancer, especially mothers, are at risk for developing post-traumatic stress symptoms associated with their child's illness and their efforts to manage all the personal and familial strains associated with the disease. (Kazak, A., Steuber, M., Barakat, L., Meeske, K., Gutherie, D., & Meadows, A (1998) Predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers and fathers of survivors of childhood cancer. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 823-831.)