Support Groups & Events
Attend enriching events designed to bring people together in a positive, welcoming environment. Meet with fellow cancer patients, survivors, family, and friends at Bliss Cancer Center.
Support Groups
You and your loved ones can receive and offer empathy to people who can relate to your experiences, building strength and community. You may also benefit from education and advice in a nonjudgmental setting. Support groups are typically free and facilitated by specially trained:
- Mental health therapists
- Nurses
- Psychologists
- Social workers
Living With Cancer Education Group
The Living with Cancer Education Group offers information for you and loved ones who are newly diagnosed with cancer. Call the Cancer Resource Center at 515-956-6440 or 866-972-5477 for details.
Courage in Motion
Courage in Motion is designed to be a pathway to hope and health for people who are currently undergoing cancer treatment or have gone through treatment in the past year. Contact the Cancer Resource Center at 515-956-6440 for details.
Bereavement Support Group
During a six-week program, families and friends experiencing loss from cancer or another condition may find help through sharing at the Bereavement Support Group. It’s offered free of charge three times per year at the Israel Family Hospice House. For information or to register, contact Mike Willer, bereavement coordinator, at 515-956-6038 or willer@mgmc.com.
Writing Circle Wednesdays
6 Writing Circle Wednesdays | Sept 7, 14, 21, 28, Oct 5 & 26 | 3 to 5 pm
4 Writing Circle Sundays I October 2, 9, 23 & 30 I 2 to 4 pm
All sessions are held on Zoom
For the writer in each of us, and offered to people currently receiving treatment for cancer or who have completed treatment within the last two years, this group allows for creative exploration in a supportive space right where you are. Your stories are prompted by writing-prompts that inspire stories from your life. Each session is a self-care surprise.
Bring your notebook and pen, and invite your muse to join us. Participants will have the opportunity to read writing to the group, which is healing on many levels.
Registration is free and required. Sessions are limited to 10 participants. A Zoom link will be provided after registration.
For questions and to register, email Ana McCracken at ana@ameswriterscollective.org
Don't think of yourself as a writer?
Watch and hear how writing helps, and what writing together meant to the Writing Circle Wednesday writers.
This program is produced in partnership with the Ames Writers Collective.
Community Events
Each year, Mary Greeley holds different activities for cancer survivors and their families. Contact the Cancer Resource Center at 515-956-6440 to learn more about upcoming or regularly offered events.
This annual October event is for women to come together for an evening of camaraderie and comedy, as we raise breast cancer awareness and money to support the William R. Bliss Cancer Center.
Weekend Retreats
Take part in a free, weekend-long event offering education, meditation, and recreation to refresh your spirit, as well as important discussions of living and dying, hopes, and fears.
Dragon Boat Racing
This annual summer event is for breast cancer survivors and supporters to train and race on the Life is Bliss team. To learn more, visit the Life is Bliss Dragon Boat Association website.
Pink Glove Dance
Medline, a surgical glove manufacturing company, sponsors the Pink Glove Dance every year at hospitals across the country to showcase facilities and communities.
