UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Support Groups

Sponsored or facilitated by the Cancer Resource Center, support groups foster a sense of community among people affected by cancer. The CRC offers a wide range of such groups, listed below. Some groups require preregistration, so it is important to call before your first meeting.

For general cancer support, or to identify groups for diseases or affiliations not listed here, please contact the CRC at 415.885.3693 or by email.

Groups for Cancer Types

Bladder Cancer
Educational & Support Group
1st Thursday of the month, 5:30-7:00 pm. 
Call Sarah Schneider, LCSW, at 415-353-7632.

Brain Tumor
1st Wednesday of each month from 7-8:30pm
Contact Mary Lovely, (415) 990-4461


Colo-Rectal Cancer
2nd and 4th Thursdays, 6:00-7:00pm
Contact Vittorio Comelli, PsyD, 415.637.2895. or vittorio.comelli@ucsf.edu.

General Cancer—All Stages
Wednesdays, 5:20-6:50 pm.  Patients only.
Contact Patty Moran, 415.353.9745.

Leukemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Hodgkin’s Disease
2nd Tuesday, 6:00-7:30 pm
Held at 513 Parnassus, Room S-168.
Family and Friends welcome. 
Contact Tiffany Raffino, MSW, 415.353.2965.

Prostate Cancer*
2nd and 4th Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30 pm
Contact Vittorio Comelli, PsyD, 415.637.2895.
Partners and friends welcome.

Prostate Cancer Support for Gay Men*
1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30 pm
Contact Vittorio Comelli, PsyD, 415.637.2895.
Open to gay men and their partners.

*choose one of these groups only

Young Adults with Cancer
1st and 3rd Mondays, 6:30-8:15 pm
Contact Keren Stronach, MPH, 510.540.5147.

Groups for Caregivers

Family and Friends
2nd and 4th Thursdays, 4:00-5:15 pm
Contact Michele Francis, LCSW, 415.353.7982.

Husbands & Significant Others
2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00 pm
Contact Jim Murdoch: 415-885-7225.

Other Languages and Heritage
Please call the Resource Center to find out about Bay Area support groups held in Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin, as well as for women of African-American heritage.

Other Support Groups

Individual & Couple’s Counseling
For referrals, call the Cancer Resource Center, 415.885.3693.

Psycho-oncology Services
A psychologist and a psychiatrist are on staff for individual consultation for UCSF Cancer Center patients and their families to assist with coping, pain and other symptoms, insomnia, mood disorders and more.
  Contact your UCSF practice.

Spiritual Counseling and Guidance
Chaplains available to provide spiritual counseling and to assist in coping with bereavement.
Contact 415.885.7785.