A pueblo cancer support group and education program.

Myths about cancer, distrust and misunderstanding of the health care system, financial barriers, and distance from medical facilities contribute to late diagnosis and non-compliance with treatment, which are responsible for the poor cancer survival rate among American Indians. Complicating these issues is that a cancer diagnosis is often treated as closely guarded secret because the individual may be shunned or ostracized if the cancer is made public. Survivors are stigmatized as doomed victims. A Gathering of Support, a cancer survivor group started by Mary Lovato, herself a cancer survivor, is a program that offers education and emotional support in order to address cancer-related issues in the pueblos.