TouchedByTheExtraordinary.com                                                                                         Intuitive Psychologist, Susan Barbara Apollon

Support Groups

GyniGirls Share Love, Laughter, and More While Battling Cancer

Free support group for women meets monthly in Langhorne, PA, addressing
needs unique to women faced with life-challenging illness.

“You have cancer.” Those words can shake a woman to her very core when she hears them from her doctor.

But there is a place to go for support from others who have been there. They call themselves the GyniGirls—women who are living with gynecological or any other type of cancer—who meet once a month in Langhorne to share hugs, laughter, tears, and a sympathetic ear.

“Healing starts from the heart,” explains Susan Apollon, the psychologist who helps facilitate the group. “You cannot heal your body if you don’t find a way to love yourself first. When you find a place where you can feel peace and safety, your body responds at the cellular level. You begin to immediately create the chemicals that boost immunity.”

That peaceful place is created at the Center for Women’s Health when the GyniGirls meet to guide and reassure each other throughout the healing process. The group was formed about a year ago by Amy Harvey, MD, who brings her expertise as a gynecologist who works with women challenged by cancer.

Meanwhile, Apollon brings more than 25 years of experience as a psychologist specializing in cancer patients to the group. She also brings the perspective of someone who has survived breast cancer.

“When you learn you have a life-challenging illness, you’re in deep shock at first because you’ve lost your sense of being whole and healthy,” says Apollon. “Over time, you find you’re much more powerful and resilient than you ever were. Cancer becomes a teacher for you. It provides you with a different perspective about life.”

It’s that different world view that connects the women who attend, Apollon adds. In fact, every woman has acknowledged that cancer has enabled them to look at life differently.

“They treasure experiences that they took for granted before,” says Apollon. “It’s a gift—something special we would not have had if we hadn’t had that experience (of cancer). Each one of us has something lovely to share, and we bring that to each other, and we value one another.”

Apollon has also seen members regain some sense of control over their lives.

“Not only is it a warm, intimate group, it’s a place where they can come and feel a greater sense of control over the circumstances that they deal with each day as they go through treatment and the healing process. They become more confident, more grounded; they feel like someone has their back.”

That includes tending to each other in good times as well as not-so-good times, says Apollon—through laughter and loss, love and tears.

GyniGirls also welcomes caregivers and family members of cancer patients. The meetings, which are free and open to the public, take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at the Center for Women’s Health, located at 540 North Woodbourne Rd., Langhorne, PA, 19047.

Our meetings are usually held the 3rd Wednesday of each month. However, changes do occur. Please call Monica at 215-750-6611, extension 125. to register and confirm the meeting date.

 

Breast Cancer Answers

http://breastcancer.answers.com A great site that is visually pleasing, informative and explains the basics and non basics re topics related to cancer… found to be especially valuable to kids interested in learning about cancer related matters.

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society has a wealth of information dealing with cancer and cancer related forums.

If you’d like to schedule a session with Susan, please click here.