This Pink October, we’re sharing Olga’s story.
When Olga was diagnosed with breast cancer, her first reaction surprised her: calm. She didn’t feel overwhelmed. She didn’t immediately think about counselling or support groups. In her opinion, she was able to cope without the help of external networks.
She focused on understanding what lay ahead, meeting her medical team, and making practical preparations for treatment. When organisations offering support were mentioned, she listened but didn’t feel they were for her. She wasn’t falling apart. She just wanted to get on with it.
Then a counsellor suggested something she hadn’t considered: a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy group for people living with cancer.
She joined group sessions, both online and in person, and started attending yoga classes alongside others going through treatment.
It wasn’t what she had imagined. There was no pressure to share more than she wanted, no expectation to explain herself. Instead, she found people who listened and understood. There were people on the same path, so she didn’t need to say anything.Â
Over time, something shifted.
“Being around people who know how it is, who understand without explanation – it is very helpful. Being around and being part of this community.”
What surprised her most was not the services themselves, but the sense of connection they created. A quiet kind of belonging she hadn’t realised she was missing.
Her advice is simple: try it. You don’t need to feel ready. You don’t need to have the right words or be in the right emotional place. Just show up.
Cancer Support Switzerland offers more than counselling. Through mindfulness programmes, yoga, peer groups, and community events, the organization creates spaces where people touched by cancer connect with people who understand what they are going through.
Sometimes, that kind of connection is not what you expect.
But it can be exactly what you need.
