Optimizing the quality of life for all people living with cancer.
Cancer Lifeline Online Support Groups & Classes
All online classes and support groups are FREE for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Check out our website for online access instructions and current program listings.
Here is a selection of featured upcoming programs:
Managing Toxic Positivity June 15, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Summer Salads June 18, 12:30 - 2:30 pm
Natural Pain Relief June 19, 10 - 11 am
Nature & Cancer: Guided Forest Walk June 30, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Conversations about Forgiveness July 9, 1 - 2 pm
COVID-19 & Cancer Blog:
What Friends & Family Can do to Help
Sometimes it is a challenge to figure out just what we need from family and friends to help us navigate through the cancer experience. Our needs change over time and what we need may not be a fit with what someone can provide. Most importantly, we need to acknowledge the need for help and then ask for it! 
 
Take an honest look at your day to day activities and “to do” list and decide what you really want to hold onto and what you can allow others to help with. Accepting assistance and help will require turning over some control, so what can you live with if it’s not done exactly the same way you would do it? This is a very personal inventory and will be unique to each situation. Ask yourself, what benefit there would be, in terms of conserving your own time and energy, that could then be invested in other priorities or more enjoyable activities if you were to have assistance. Read more.

There is no greater gift you can give those you love and care about than
to tell them how they can help you!
Hospital Partner: St. Anne's Cancer Center
Thanks to this ongoing partnership, we are able to serve cancer patients and their families in Burien and surrounding areas. Together, we offer classes in nutrition, chair yoga & general presentations. To see current programs offered online as well as local resources, click here
New Legislation Will Help Find and Diagnose Cancers Earlier and Save Lives
We are closer than ever before to opening an exciting new front in the 50-year long war on cancer. Thanks to new technologies that help detect cancer earlier – when it can be better treated – and to the essential understanding from many leaders in Congress of just how much promise these technologies have. Sens. Crapo (R-ID), Bennet (D-CO), Cardin (D-MD), and Scott (R-SC) recently reintroduced the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act in the Senate, which would allow Medicare to cover Multi-cancer early detection (MCED) technologies as soon as the FDA approves them. It is clear that now is the time for action to drive policy that keeps up with medical innovation and begins to turn the tide on cancer.
 
MCED technologies combine advances in the study of the human genome and computing power to identify trace cancer cells in the bloodstream through a noninvasive blood draw to identify dozens of deadly cancers with a high degree of accuracy. By detecting dozens of cancers early, MCED can help improve treatment outcomes, especially for patients who have a type of cancer without an available early screening.
 
Cancer affects everyone in some way, and despite a 50-year war to eradicate the deadly disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and trending to the top cause. While there have been incredible advances in treatment and detection technologies, most cancers are still caught after they’ve spread throughout the body. 
 
Later-stage cancers make treatments and procedures more difficult, and more expensive. If we caught more cancers early, it would result in better health outcomes for patients. But nearly 75% of cancer deaths are caused by cancers that lack recommended early screenings, and only five cancers have recommended screenings. As MCED technologies work their way through research and development, and the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process, we’re watching a paradigm shift take place in the cancer detection space.
 
This could be the beginning of the end of cancer as we know it – with one caveat. Without congressional action, it could take a decade or longer for Medicare to cover these new cancer screenings. That’s why we signed a
letter urging Congress to pass this legislation with more than 300 other cancer advocacy organizations. 
  
Learn more about the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act here. Join the conversation by using #earlydetection.
Our 2020 Report to the Community is available now online.

Our program utilization grew by over 17% over the course of the pandemic.Learn more about what we accomplished in 2020.

"You have been my Lifeline during this past year when I was isolated and needed information, socialization & support."
~ Cancer Lifeline Client
Sponsor Spotlight:
ROI Technology, Inc.
ROI Technology Inc. has been protecting and supporting Cancer Lifeline’s IT needs since 2014. We are always grateful for their support but found them to be invaluable partners when we moved all of Cancer Lifeline's programs online last March. Plus they have been longtime sponsors of our fundraising events. We can't thank them enough. Recently we caught up with Jasper Grewal, CEO at ROI for a quick digital chat.

What’s the biggest challenge ROI has faced during Covid?

All businesses have faced sometimes seemingly insurmountable obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic; thankfully, the vast majority of ROI staff were already spread out and working from home; that said, our biggest challenge during the pandemic was developing effective policies and procedures to ensure our staff and clients were safe during necessary onsite visits, especially in the early days of the pandemic when PPE was in short supply, information on transmissibility was changing on a day to day basis, and the strain on IT resources was heavy as we helped clients pivot, scale, or develop work from home strategies.

We at ROI Technology Inc believe Cancer Lifeline’s mission is vitally important to our collective communities. We have been proud to support and sponsor Cancer Lifeline’s community services and educational programs since 2014, and to help pivot many of those programs from in-person to online delivery during the pandemic.
 
How do you accommodate a wide range of your clients' digital experiences – from non-digital natives to hardened code-writers?

Working at ROI Technology requires a passion for technology, but also a passion for helping people. Everyone’s experience level with technology is unique, and while finding some common ground with less techie folks may be challenging at times, it’s absolutely paramount to delivering the kind of service and support we’re known for throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Our Sponsors Make It Possible
Cancer Lifeline is grateful for the leadership and support of the following 2021 Sponsors.
Swedish Cancer Institute has been a steady sponsor of Cancer Lifeline's events for several years. Cancer Lifeline works alongside Swedish to help advance the field of emotional support for people living with cancer. Our heartfelt thanks for their continued sponsorship.
Cancer Lifeline's relationship with the University of Washington goes back to 1973 when members of the UW faculty sat down with our founder Gloria Gutkowski to talk about the lack of emotional support programs for cancer patients and what might be done about it. Cancer Lifeline salutes UW Medicine for their ongoing support of our events and welcomes them back for 2021.
A longtime sponsor of our Breakfast, The Commerce Bank of Washington has been supporting Cancer Lifeline since 1995. Several bank staff members have served on our board, including Steven Gerlock, Cancer Lifeline board member, and Susan Finneran, who now sits on our Advisory Board. We are grateful for The Commerce Bank of Washington's ongoing partnership.

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance brings together the leading research teams and cancer specialists of Fred Hutch, Seattle Children's, and UW Medicine. We are grateful for their support of our programs and for the guidance and leadership of our current SCCA board members Tiffany Courtnage, Andy Peet, and Cathy Taketa.
Over 16 years ago, Cancer Lifeline was invited to host a support group at EvergreenHealth. That was just the beginning of our strong partnership. Cancer Lifeline thanks Evergreen for their continued support.

Reaching as far back as 2006, Pathstone (formerly Cornerstone Advisors) has been a steadfast sponsor of Cancer Lifeline's events. Our thanks to Cancer Lifeline Advisory Board Member Dave Drews and Pathstone for their continued leadership.
Dedicated to promoting the economic benefits of life science business and research for Washington state's economy and patients around the world, We Work For Health seeks to educate our elected leaders, the news media, and the communities they serve about these key contributions. Cancer Lifeline welcomes We Work for Health Washington back as a 2021 sponsor.
We began our formal hospital partnership with Overlake Medical Center in September of 2017, but our relationship reaches back to 2004 when Cancer Lifeline had office space in Bellevue. We are grateful for Overlake's ongoing support of our events.
One of Cancer lifeline's newest hospital partners, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health has locations in both downtown Seattle and Federal Way. Cancer Lifeline is grateful for Virginia Mason's sponsorship of our events.

Lilly has been a long-time sponsor of Cancer Lifeline's Breakfast with Friends, starting back when it was still a Luncheon. We are grateful for their steadfast support of our fundraising events over the years and look forward to many more.


Thanks to the leadership of Ben Hicks, our current board president, Cancer Lifeline welcomes Soundmark Wealth Management as a new sponsor in 2021.
Cancer Lifeline welcomes AAA Fire Protection as a new event sponsor in 20201. AAA Fire Protection helps ensure the safety of Cancer Lifeline's headquarters, the Dorothy O'Brien Center.


On the recommendation of our board member Sue Drummond, Michael Weichbrodt with Morgan Stanley joins Cancer Lifeline's group of 2021 Sponsors.

This year's Breakfast with Friends is sponsored by HomeLight, an innovative online real estate company dedicated to providing equitable solutions for all people interested in buying or selling a home.
We have counted on ROI Technology Inc. to keep us safe, secure, and active on the internet since 2015. Cancer Lifeline salutes ROI Technology for their ongoing support of our events.
Inquiries regarding opportunities to sponsor events and new online programs for 2021 can be directed to Executive Director Joseph Yurgevich or Development Director Beth Brooks.