YORK COUNTY - "You have breast cancer."
Most people with cancer will tell you they experienced their greatest fear and concern at the time they heard those words until they were well into treatment.
Many also describe experiencing a "gap" in support, information and resources in those beginning weeks of uncertainty - adding to an already fearful situation.
In June of 2007, local breast cancer survivors created Fill the Gap, Inc., a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week telephone helpline, to assist friends and neighbors in the Maine and N.H. Seacoast area who were experiencing those fears.
In collaboration with York, Portsmouth and Wentworth Douglass Hospitals, the helpline provides support and informational resources to those newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
Fill the Gap's Volunteer Peer Counselors are available day and night to answer calls from breast cancer patients, family and friends, and Fill the Gap's breast cancer survivor volunteers "give back to their community" by sharing their experiences and offering information/referrals to appropriate support services here in the seacoast.
As the organization celebrated its first anniversary on June 25, dedicated Volunteer Peer Counselors were honored at an Appreciation Dinner on June 17.
To reach the toll-free Fill the Gap Helpline, call (877) Fill the Gap (345-5843).
