Open Arms Breast Cancer Support Group

Breast Cancer Support Group open to women living with breast cancer.

The Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center is collaborating with the founders of the Open Arms Support Group to have a monthly support group meeting for women helping newly diagnosed breast cancer patients navigate through the process of healing and surviving. Come join us at 2pm on the first Sunday of every month at the Beth C Wright Center, 23 Commerce Park, Ellsworth, Maine, for the chance to connect, share and heal together. No one should have to do this alone.

The Open Arms support group started with co-founder Brooke Ismail’s cancer journey that began in the summer of 2013. After the completion of her surgeries, she realized that for herself and many others there was a void in the real-world patient-to-patient connection that other support programs did not fill. In 2015 the idea started by reaching out to fellow breast cancer patients and securing a meeting location through word of mouth. Most recently, the Open Arms Support Group has had a regularly scheduled (4th Sunday of the month), vibrant meetings covering various topics held at St Joseph’s Hospital in Bangor. They will now be gathering twice a month with this second meeting at the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center on the 1st Sunday of each month.

Open Arms Mission Statement:

To offer support, hope and real -life advice, patient to patient, to women facing the various decisions and choices related to their breast cancer journey.

Goals:

1. Establish a Statewide database and network of breast cancer patients and survivors, in hopes of providing real life experiences for the multiple choices and options upon receiving a breast cancer diagnosis

2. Provide a “breast buddy” as a resource to newly diagnosed breast cancer patient – matching diagnosis as much as possible

3. Provide a nonjudgmental, understanding “shoulder to lean on”

4. Be a resource for the clinical team within the patients’ medical network