Category: Member Stories

New cancer support groups provide spaces of understanding and connection “We’re there for each other. It’s a safe space,” shares Kim, a regular attendee of the new LGBTQIA+ Cancer Support Group. The group meets virtually every month for all those who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and have a cancer diagnosis. It’s one…

By Mary Sue, Gilda’s Club member When I was diagnosed with Early-Stage Breast Cancer last summer, I kept thinking they must have notified the wrong person. Surely this wasn’t something that was happening to me! Through the further testing, preparation for Breast Conserving Surgery to remove the tumor, radiation following the surgery, and the beginning…

By Lori T, Gilda’s Club member, volunteer, and Ambassador Life is better with Gilda’s Club Madison. That’s been my experience. And everyone I’ve met there has had that same positive experience. I was diagnosed in 2021 with advanced Multiple Myeloma. I’m on my 3rd line of therapy already, including a Stem Cell Transplant (“bone marrow…

By Crystal, Gilda’s Club Member I was eight years old when cancer first entered my life. On March 24, 1992, my dad told us he had cancer, and even though I didn’t understand it then, that moment would go on to shape so much of who I am today. My dad went on to battle…

By Gloria, Gilda’s Club Member At the age of 30, I was hit like a ton of bricks when I went in for my annual physical and was told she found a lump in my left breast. After many tests, I was given the diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer and it had spread to…

By Katie, Gilda’s Club Member Getting a cancer diagnosis is the absolute pits. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 40—my son not yet three and my ducks wholly not in a row to handle the additional workload of treatment—I broke. Early on, drowning in turmoil, I knew I would benefit from support outside…