The Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance (LBCA) is pleased to partner with SHARE Cancer Support to offer peer support for patients with lobular breast cancer. Patients can call the hotline to talk to a peer about any aspect of breast cancer. Patients with questions specifically about lobular breast cancer can request lobular peer support.
LBCA formed this partnership to respond to the many patients asking for ILC specific support and help navigating their diagnosis and treatment. SHARE also provides a broad range of services to help all patients with different breast cancers cope with their diagnosis and treatments. LBCA and SHARE partnership will provide additional educational opportunities to educate patients and caregivers about lobular breast cancer.
“There is a tremendous need for lobular breast cancer specific peer support,” said Lori Petitti, LBCA’s co-coordinator and an ILC peer support volunteer with SHARE. “Patients contact LBCA every week with questions and seeking advice. This partnership with SHARE will fill a critical gap for the ILC patient community.”
Many patients with ILC who seek peer support are newly diagnosed or coping with metastatic disease. This partnership will help patients with ILC who are seeking information, support or want to share experiences speak with another patient with lobular breast cancer who understands living with ILC and its differences.
“No one can offer support quite like someone who’s been through it themselves, but patients with less common conditions often have a hard time feeling seen and understood. SHARE is always interested in ways we can fill needs for underserved populations, so partnering with LBCA to offer expanded opportunities for people affected by ILC was a natural fit,” said Christine Benjamin, Breast Cancer Program Director at SHARE.
The lobular patient peer support initiative will be run and managed through SHARE’s breast cancer national Helpline, which serves nearly 6,000 women each year and peer support program in the U.S., coordinated with outreach, support and educational resources from LBCA. Trained ILC peers will be available via the Helpline to take calls.
Patients can request peer support from someone living with ILC by calling SHARE’s national Helpline at 844.ASK.SHARE (844.275.7427) and asking for a Lobular Peer.
About SHARE Cancer Support
SHARE is a national nonprofit that supports, educates, and empowers women affected by breast or ovarian cancer, with a special focus on medically underserved communities. Its mission is to connect them with the insight of peers who have been there too, creating a nationwide community where no one has to face breast or ovarian cancer alone. SHARE’s free services, provided in both English and Spanish, also include support groups, 100+ annual educational programs, clinical trial assistance, community outreach, corporate education, advocacy opportunities, caregiver support, and survivor-patient navigation.
About the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance
The Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance (LBCA) is a patient-driven advocacy network working with a scientific advisory board of breast cancer researchers and physicians. Our goal is to promote research that advances prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care for patients with lobular breast cancer (ILC) and to educate and raise awareness about this disease. Learn more about lobular breast cancer and the LBCA at LobularBreastCancer.org
