The Tri-Cities Cancer Center is trying something new.
The nonprofit started a support group for Spanish-speaking women dealing with cancer, which met for the first time last week.
A number of Hispanic women were meeting informally after their appointments at the center, said Cindy Miller, center community educator.
The six support groups were in English and didn't seem to be fulfilling the Hispanic community's needs, she said, so the center decided to add a Spanish-speaking group.
The group is facilitated by Monica Escareo, an interventionist/health educator for the Center for Hispanic Health, part of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Escareo said the Center for Hispanic Health already has three Spanish-language cancer support groups in the lower Yakima Valley.
The groups help educate Hispanic men and women about their cancer, she said.
Some Hispanic women feel like the disease is their fault, Escareo said. A support group can help change that and reassure them that not all cancers are terminal.
Often women want to remain strong for their families as they fight cancer, Miller said. Support groups give them a safe place to talk frankly about their experiences.
"It's OK to cry and complain," she said.
The groups also offer a chance for participants to ask questions about their cancer and the side effects from treatment, Miller said.
The support group will include education and emotional support, Miller said, and be tailored to the patients who attend and their wants.
The group will educate participants about community resources and cancer prevention, she said.
"It's going to be a safe place to talk about what is going on," Escareo said.
It's also a way to help women know that they are not alone in what they are experiencing, she said.
Miller hopes the group will help spread information about cancer and the Tri-Cities Cancer Center in the Hispanic community. The center offers free screenings to those who need them, since mammograms and pap smears can be expensive, she said.
Women in the group can also help the center find ways to better help their community, she said.
"We learn from them as much as they learn from us," Miller said.
The Spanish-speaking women's support group meets the first and third Tuesday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. in the fireside room of the wellness center at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center, 7350 W. Deschutes Ave., in Kennewick. For more information, call the cancer center at 783-9894.
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