Support Groups

 
Patient and Caregiver Support Group
The Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation (ECEF) facilitates free monthly Support Group Conference Call Meetings for Esophageal Cancer patients and caregivers.  Although most of the participants are post surgery we do have patients who are beginning their journey through this disease as well. ECEF from time to time will have a member of ECEF Medical Advisory Committee attend our support group meeting and be available to answer any question patients or caregivers may have from a medical perspective. Our meetings usually start at 8:00 PM (EST) and last for one hour.
If you would like to participate, please sign up HERE and be sure to check the box that indicates that you want to part of a support group? If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Foundation at (732) 385-7461
MSKCC Survivorship and Esophageal Cancer: Finding a New Balance 
This informational and discussion group is designed to help survivors adjust to the changes that follow surgery for esophageal cancer.  Family members are welcome. The discussion group meets every other month on the second Monday. Please register in advance for this group at 646 888 4740.  More information about this group and others can be found on the MSKCC Living Beyond Cancer Website:  http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/58022.cfm or call Resources for Life After Cancer 646 888 4740.
 
Beth Israel Gastro / Esophageal Cancer Support Group
This support group meets monthly on the second Monday of the month at 6:30pm at Phillips Ambulatory Care Center 10 Union Square East suite 4a Bogart conference room. If you would like to know more about this support group please call 212-420-4041. New attendees must call before attending meeting.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Connections
MSKCC CONNECTIONS is an on-line community designed for patients and caregivers to exchange support information and inspiration.   The community is open to all patients and caregivers whether you have been treated at MSKCC or not.  ECEF has created a group within this site specifically for esophageal cancer patients and caregivers.
Bart Frazzitta, ECEF’s President and co-founder, will be the moderator of the esophageal cancer group on this site. Come join us and register which is totally secure and exchange your thoughts and comments in an on-line environment.
To join the group, go the Connections sign-up page at http://www.mskcc.net/ and create yourself an account.  You will need to reference the unique key phrase mskcc123 when registering.  Once you have an account setup, you can join the Esophageal Cancer group by clicking on the Select a Group drop-down under Groups on the right-hand side of your home page.  From here, you can click the Join Group button to join the group.
Esophageal Cancer Support Group in Phoenix

The formation of the group came about after Terry Ratner, a registered nurse and  freelance writer, called several well-known Arizona cancer centers looking for a support group for EC patients and their families. After finding there were no specific groups for EC, due to low survivor rates, she decided to start her own. This is how the Phoenix  esophageal cancer group began in Phoenix. It has been going strong for seven years. http://esophagealcancersupportphoenix.com/