Calling for Help: Cancer Helplines and What They Offer

Talking to a friendly, knowledgeable specialist on the phone is a user-friendly way to find out more about cancer. Here are a few of the agencies that sponsor cancer “helplines.”

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

1-800-345-6324

Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST)

The Anderson Network, a service of M. D. Anderson, is a nationwide cancer support group with 1,300 trained volunteers speaking 10 to 12 languages. The volunteers—among them patients with cancer, survivors, and caregivers—are matched to callers with a similar diagnosis and treatment. Although they cannot provide medical advice, these volunteers offer hope and support to those in similar situations.

For more information, visit www.mdanderson.org/departments/andersonnet/.

American Cancer Society

1-800-ACS-2345

1-866-228-4327 (TTY)

7 days a week, 24 hours a day

The ACS’s National Cancer Information Center specialists answer questions about cancer, provide literature on treatment options, and link callers to support programs, events, and resources in the community. They also provide information on insurance matters, financial and legal issues, transportation, and the Look Good…Feel Better program.

Visit www.cancer.org to send a question, find clinical trials, and locate treatment centers. Communicate with other patients with cancer and their family members in English, Spanish, and Chinese at the online Cancer Survivors Network.

National Cancer Institute

1-800-4-CANCER

1-800-332-8615 (TTY)

Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The NCI’s free, government-funded Cancer Information Service provides information in English and Spanish on a broad variety of topics, including cancer prevention, risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic tests, treatments, social and emotional concerns, and clinical trials. The cancer information specialists can also direct callers to local treatment centers, mammography facilities, and other cancer organizations.

English-speaking specialists are also available for Internet chat through LiveHelp at www.cancer.gov (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST).

Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization

English, 1-800-221-2141

Spanish, 1-800-986-9505

7 days a week, 24 hours a day

Counselors who have survived breast cancer talk with callers about their feelings and concerns, provide straightforward information about breast cancer and breast health, and match callers with survivors who had a similar diagnosis. Y-ME provides wigs and breast prostheses free of charge to women with limited resources, has a Men’s/Partner’s Match Program that supports people who are helping someone through breast cancer, and has a ShareRing Network Teleconference with free monthly teleconferences featuring a breast cancer–related presentation by a medical professional. Counselors are available in English and Spanish, and there are interpreters in 150 languages.

Visit www.y-me.org to submit questions, find information on local affiliates, learn about treatment options, and access support programs.

American Institute for Cancer Research

1-800-843-8114

Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (EST)

Registered dieticians at the AICR’s Nutrition Hotline answer questions on cancer and nutrition, such as foods to eat during treatment and nutritional recommendations for cancer prevention. A customer service representative forwards calls to the dieticians, who call back within 48 hours. Callers can also ask for the booklets “Nutrition for the Cancer Patient” and “Nutrition for the Cancer Survivor.”

The new online service at www.aicr.org/information/hotline/index.lasso provides answers within 3 days to dietary questions submitted by e-mail.

Cancer Care

1-800-813-HOPE

Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST)

Calls are answered and referred to an oncology social worker, who contacts callers within a couple of days. Social workers help people cope with the emotional, social, and financial burdens of cancer. They also provide information on financial grants for home care, child care, medication, and transportation. Social workers speak both English and Spanish.

For more information on this topic or for questions about M. D. Anderson’s treatments, programs, or services, call the M. D. Anderson Information Line at (800) 392-1611 (in the United States) or (713) 792-3245 (in Houston and outside the United States).

Other articles in OncoLog, July/August 2005 issue:

• Getting Proactive about Prevention
• New Techniques in Tumor Ablation

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