The Lymphoma Support Group of Ottawa (LSGO) has provided lymphoma patients, families and friends in the Ottawa region with support, information, education and networking since October 2000.

A support group is part of a continuum of care. Everyone in the support group has coped with the devastation of diagnosis and is seeking to move on to becoming more involved in living life to its fullest. Doing something for yourself in addition to undergoing treatment can bring positive changes. Most cancer patients find enormous benefits from becoming more informed about their particular cancer, its diagnosis and treatments. Becoming engaged as an active member in your own health care team restores some sense of control and well-being.

The Lymphoma Support Group of Ottawa usually includes a mix of participants, including newly diagnosed patients and long term survivors, people with different forms of lymphoma, and their families and friends.

The Lymphoma Support Group of Ottawa holds an information session in September and holds 8 meetings per year. The LSGO Meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month from October to December and from February to June. Meetings are not held in September, January, July or August.

• Helps you to become educated about your cancer and your reactions to it;
• Lets newly diagnosed patients and their partners, caregivers and families know that they are not alone. Members often provide their own perspectives on coping strategies to get through difficult times. They have personal experience about what it is like to undergo treatments and to live with lymphoma;
• provides a safe, confidential place to discuss individual issues and concerns with people who are empathetic because they have faced similar challenges;
• supports people through treatment and recovery by sharing personal experiences with one another;
• identifies sources of information on lymphomas, treatments and complementary therapies, which other LSGO participants have found useful;
• presents on-going education programs, which reflect the interests and concerns of LSGO participants;
• offers a forum for discussing issues, concerns and suggestions for improving how lymphomas are treated and managed in the Ottawa area.