For the second year now, Fans for the Cure is shining a spotlight on Mother’s Day as an appeal for those in the prostate cancer community to publicly thank the women in their lives, to highlight the great work that so many women do as caregivers, to lift the profile of our Online Women’s Support Group, and to fundraise for that important program.

Sharing a Heartfelt Thank You

Over the course of our work in the prostate cancer community, we regularly hear from men who tell us how much they rely on the support of the women in their lives. “She was my rock” is a phrase that we have heard many men share when speaking of the support they received from their wives and life partners.

For Celebrating Mother’s Day, we are inviting those men whose wives or life partners provided meaningful support in their prostate cancer journey, to share a special thank-you with those women. Be sure to let those wonderful women know how important their love and support means to you. You can never say thank you too often for those who have supported you so constantly.

Highlighting the Importance of Caregivers

Experience across cancer communities provides a clear reminder that while a single person may be diagnosed with the disease, that diagnosis changes the lives of everyone around that person. Wives, partners, girlfriends, and significant others will often then find themselves in caregiver roles.

At Fans for the Cure, we have come to see caregivers as anyone who makes a deliberate effort to extend support to a cancer patient during their time of need. That support can be daily and deeply involved, as is often the case for family members. Yet it can also be less frequent, like a neighbor who drops off an occasional meal or an old friend from college who texts and calls more regularly.

During our Celebrating Mother’s Day campaign, we are asking the prostate cancer community to share the stories of the caregivers who helped them during their times of need. Let’s highlight the value and great work of caregivers, and demonstrate the many ways that others can serve as caregivers.

Highlighting Our Women’s Support Group

Since 2020, Fans for the Cure has been hosting an online support group for women journeying with men through prostate cancer. Every month, women from across the country gather on Zoom to share and support each other. Each of the women in the group has a direct connection to prostate cancer: the man they love is journeying with prostate cancer.

In Celebrating Mother’s Day, we invite the entire prostate cancer community to share information about this group with their friends, family, and colleagues. We know that many women supporting men with this disease have little or no support network of their own. Our online support group for women provides access to that important support.

Our Women’s Support Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 8 PT Eastern time.

Help Fund Our Women’s Group

In Celebrating Mother’s Day, we are seeking donations to help fund this important program, and to provide additional resources to enable Fans for the Cure to extend the program to even more women in need. We want to grow our outreach efforts to enable more women take advantage of this wonderfully supportive program.

This was originally published on the Fans for the Cure website and is reprinted with permission.