What we mean by “community of support”

A chronic illness or a severe injury affects the body and the spirit. Time and treatment will promote physical healing, but may not help with someone’s inner feelings. That’s where a community of support makes an important difference.

LivingBanners can be private gifts, and the web page just for the sender and the recipient to see. But when you invite others to visit the page and add comments of their own, the circle of compassion will grow. That helps everyone, no matter where they are, share their caring and good wishes.

Why a community of support matters

Friends have told me that loneliness is the worst part of living through a serious illness or injury. By posting notes of encouragement to the message board on a LivingBanners web page, you can help relieve the feelings of isolation that are common in treatment and recovery.

Don’t just take my word for it. Here’s something my friend Pete Collins wrote:

You will NEVER know the true value of reaching out to a cancer patient. No act of outreach is insignificant, regardless of how it appears to you. Being a cancer patient is a constant struggle with questions like: “Who am I? What am I? What do others see when they look at me? Am I still loved? Really? Am I ‘normal’ any more?” Every touch, every card, every email, every “silly” little gift says to us: “Hey, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you are, or even if you’re still normal; you are loved.” And it makes all the difference in the world.

How to create your own community of support

When you order a LivingBanner, we will send you a link by e-mail to a personalized web page that features the same banner design and a message board. From there, you can add messages and send e-mail invitations for others to visit the page. Keep it going by checking back regularly, posting new messages and inviting new visitors. You can also order Flair to customize both banners.

Because people with serious health problems—and those who care for them—have enough to do, we make it easy to create and update each LivingBanners web page. And we can help you keep your support going as long as the page is needed.

Need one-on-one support? Contact Imerman Angels

www.imermanangels.org   One-on-One Cancer Support: Connecting cancer fighters, survivors & caregivers. Imerman Angels is a federally registered 501(c )(3) not-for-profit organization providing one-on-one cancer support: connecting cancer fighters, survivors and caregivers. Imerman Angels partners a person fighting cancer with someone who has beaten the same type of cancer. One-on-one relationships give a fighter the chance to ask personal questions and get support from someone who is uniquely familiar with their experience. The service is absolutely free and helps anyone touched by any type of cancer, at any cancer stage level, at any age, living anywhere in the world.

The LiveStrong Guidebook, an invaluable tool for anyone newly diagnosed with cancer. 

www.store-laf.org/gbj001.html

The LIVESTRONG Guidebook can help cancer survivors, including patients diagnosed with cancer, their loved ones and caregivers.

The Guidebook provides information, resources and organizational tools to help survivors navigate through all phases of the cancer journey. The general themes of the Guidebook content include understanding how cancer can affect the physical, emotional and day-to-day lives of survivors. The Guidebook is free, handling and shipping will be applied.