Online Support Group for Breast Cancer Survivors
A space where you don’t have to explain what surviving breast cancer feels like
Breast cancer can change the way you think about your body, your relationships, your future, and even yourself. And while the people in your life may care deeply about you, there are parts of the experience that can be hard to understand unless you've survived it.
At New York City Psychotherapy Collective, our online breast cancer survivor support group offers a space to connect with other people navigating cancer while receiving guidance from a licensed mental health professional.
Benefits of Support Groups for Breast Cancer Survivors
Cancer can be incredibly isolating, and that doesn’t stop when treatment ends. Even when you have supportive friends and family, you may find yourself protecting them from how lost you are, getting tired of answering questions about what happens next, or feeling like no one quite understands what you're experiencing as you acclimate back to “normal” life. A support group for breast cancer survivors can offer a chance to be with people who understand parts of the experience firsthand. Cancer support groups may help you:
Feel less alone. Connecting with people navigating similar experiences can reduce the sense that you are carrying everything by yourself.
Talk openly about difficult emotions. Fear, grief, anger, uncertainty, sadness, relief, and even humor can all have a place here. You don’t have to soften your experience to protect your loved ones’ feelings.
Navigate changes in relationships. Receiving treatment may have shed light on your relationships. You learned who you can really count on, whether they’re friends, family, or romantic partners.
Make space for identity changes. You may be figuring out who you are after treatment—you’re not the same person that you were before.
Share experiences without needing to explain everything. Sometimes it helps simply to be around people who already understand the trauma that can come with surviving cancer.
Learn new ways to cope. Hearing how others approach difficult moments can give you perspectives and strategies you may not have considered.
Have somewhere to bring the things you don't know where else to put. Not every cancer-related thought fits neatly into a follow up appointment or conversation with a loved one.
NYCPC’s Online Support Group for Breast Cancer Survivors
Our group is intentionally small so everyone has space to participate and get to know one another over the course of the eight-week series.
Dates: Wednesdays, October 28 through December 16
Time: 5:30–7:00 PM EST
Format: Virtual
Location: Open to participants throughout the U.S. and Canada
Length: 8 weekly sessions
Cost: $45 per session / $360 for the full series (full commitment required to participate)
Group size: Maximum of 8 participants
Facilitator: Greta Weiss, LMSW
Unlike a drop-in group where participants may change from week to week, this eight-session format gives the group an opportunity to build greater familiarity, trust, and connection over time.
Meet Your Group Facilitator
Greta Weiss, LMSW
Professional support with a genuinely human approach
This online support group for breast cancer survivors is facilitated by Greta Weiss, a Licensed Master Social Worker in New York. Greta's approach is genuine, warm, and collaborative. She believes meaningful therapeutic work begins with people connecting as humans, not someone sitting across from you pretending to have all the answers.
Her clinical approach draws from psychodynamic therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based practices. Her work frequently helps people make room for difficult emotions while developing a more compassionate relationship with themselves.
That balance can be especially valuable when you're navigating life after cancer. There may be experiences you want to understand more deeply alongside moments when you simply need help making it through a difficult week.
Therapist-led rather than peer-led
There are many valuable peer-led cancer communities. This support group for cancer survivors offers something slightly different. Sessions are guided by a licensed social worker who can help keep conversations supportive, balanced, and emotionally safe.
Greta can help participants explore what's coming up beneath the surface, notice patterns, make room for difficult feelings, and ensure that each member has space within the group. You still receive the connection that comes from talking with other people affected by cancer, but with a mental health professional helping guide the conversation.
Why Choose New York City Psychotherapy Collective?
We know there may be many choices for online cancer support groups. But not many are tailored to breast cancer survivors and shaped by both professional expertise and a deeply personal understanding of what it means to go through breast cancer treatment.
At New York City Psychotherapy Collective, our founder Jenny Maenpaa, LCSW, EdM, knows cancer from more than a therapist's perspective. As a young breast cancer survivor, Jenny understands the isolation that can come with a cancer diagnosis, as well as the fear, uncertainty, grief, anger, and overwhelm that may surface along the way. During treatment, she also experienced cancer support groups herself.
As a licensed therapist sitting on the other side of the experience, she saw opportunities for cancer support to feel more intentional, emotionally attuned, and clinically thoughtful. That experience became part of the inspiration for creating a different kind of cancer group at New York City Psychotherapy Collective: one that brings together the connection of an intimate support group with skilled professional facilitation.
Our broader philosophy is that therapy should feel both insightful and practical. We combine space to understand what you're experiencing with tools that can help you move through everyday life. Most importantly, you deserve a place where you can show up exactly as you are. Cancer is hard enough without feeling like you have to perform your way through it.
Other Cancer Support Groups in NYC
Our online support group for cancer survivors won't necessarily be the right option for everyone, and that's okay. New York City has several excellent cancer-support resources that may better match what you're looking for:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) offers numerous support groups led by licensed social workers and nurses, including disease-specific groups (other than breast cancer) and programs for people in treatment, caregivers, and parents. MSK offers both online and in-person options, making it particularly worth exploring if you're a loved one of a survivor or looking for in-person support.
Red Door Community, formerly Gilda's Club New York City, provides free cancer support for people diagnosed with cancer as well as caregivers, family members, friends, and people grieving a loss. Their programming includes group and individual support, along with workshops and other wellness resources, which may make it a good option when cancer affected the wider family system.
Mount Sinai also offers cancer support and wellness programming, including groups for different cancer types other than breast cancer, multilingual support, survivorship resources, educational programs, and wellness activities. Some programs are in person or hybrid, although many are offered virtually.
Finding the right support group for cancer survivors can take some trial and error. Different people need different kinds of support, and what feels helpful may also change at different points in treatment and recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Cancer Support Groups
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Every group is a little different. In our online breast cancer support group, you'll meet virtually with Greta and a small group of other breast cancer survivors. Sessions offer space to talk about what you're experiencing, hear from others, process difficult emotions, and explore ways of coping with the changes cancer brought. You don't need to arrive with a specific topic prepared. The conversation will develop based on what group members need that week.
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Life after cancer can bring a mix of relief, uncertainty, and new worries. Even after treatment ends, you may still be dealing with changes in your body, relationships, identity, or daily routines. Fear of recurrence can also make it hard to fully relax or feel like life is "back to normal."
For many people, the goal isn't necessarily to return to exactly who they were before cancer. It may be more about adjusting to what has changed, rebuilding a sense of safety, and finding a new rhythm that feels meaningful. Online support groups for cancer survivors can offer space to talk about survivorship, fear of recurrence, and the emotional transition that often continues long after treatment.
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There's no single "correct" cancer experience. Depending on where you are in your own journey, conversations may include:
Anxiety before follow up scans, appointments, or results
Coping with treatment and its emotional impact
Fear about recurrence or progression
Changes in your body or body image
Feeling disconnected from people who haven't experienced cancer
Changes in work, relationships, parenting, or daily routines
Frustration with being held to other people’s expectations of recovery timelines
Grief for the life you had before cancer
Feeling pressure to return to "normal"
Uncertainty about the future
Finding ways to reconnect with yourself
You can bring whatever feels important that week. Sometimes that may mean talking through something difficult. Other times, it may mean listening, relating, laughing, or simply spending time with people who get it.
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The group is open virtually to participants in New York and throughout the United States and Canada. Everyone who is interested will first complete a screening conversation with Greta. This helps us make sure the group is suited to your current needs before you enroll.
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Our cancer support group is for women who are post-treatment of breast cancer, stages 0-3. The group is only for women who have completed treatment. If you are looking for support during breast cancer treatment, there are many support groups online and potentially in your local area.
You Don't Have to Go Through Life After Treatment Alone
There is a lot about cancer treatment you can't control. Finding people who understand what you're going through can be one way to make the experience feel a little less isolating. Our support group gives you a small, professionally facilitated space to talk honestly, connect with others, and receive support as you recover.
Ready to see if the group is right for you? Get in touch with New York City Psychotherapy Collective to start the screening process with Greta.