The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation recognizes that a diagnosis of cancer is very stressful and brings practical, financial, and emotional changes for patients as well as their families and friends. We also understand that life goes on despite a diagnosis of cancer — there are bills to pay, children to be cared for, relationships to maintain, work issues to address, laundry to be done, and meals to be cooked. Treatment decisions have to be made and explained to family members, including the children, and to employers and friends.

This Cancer Resource Roadmap — A Middle Tennessee Guide for Answers and Hope is intended to help people find assistance in their communities. It focuses on good sources of information about cancer that are accessible by telephone, mail or on the Internet. Local government agencies as well as social and private charitable organizations are identified to help with the most commonly encountered problems.

We recognize the many needs that a diagnosis of cancer in children brings, and the many excellent resources available to assist children with cancer and their families. Space does not permit us to list here in this guide all the resources available for pediatric cancer patients and families. This guide primarily addresses those resources available for adults with cancer and their families and friends.

The Patient Resource Center at The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation provide Oncology Social Workers who can be contacted for assistance in finding resources. We are available for consultation personally, by telephone (615-467-1936), or through our website, www.minniepearl.org.

Whether you are a cancer patient, family member, friend, or professional using the Cancer Resource Roadmap, we hope you will find what you need within these pages to assist you on the road to answers and hope. You can download each section, simply click the section titles.

Susan Gregory, MSW
Oncology Social Worker

Barbara Coleman, LCSW
Oncology Social Worker