Yes, in partnership with Pancreatic Cancer North America, Wellspring offers a dedicated Pancreatic Cancer Support Circle that meets twice a month — on the first and third Wednesday of each month — for 90-minute online sessions. Pancreatic cancer carries challenges that are emotionally and practically distinct from many other diagnoses, and this group was created specifically so that patients can meet others who truly understand those realities, share experiences, and build community in a safe and confidential setting. Common topics that come up include fear, treatment challenges, work-related concerns, relationships, anxiety, and the particular weight of a diagnosis that comes with such profound uncertainty. You are welcome to share as much or as little as you wish — the circle is yours to use in the way that feels most helpful.
Yes, Wellspring and Pancreatic Cancer North America have created a dedicated support circle specifically for adults under 55 living with pancreatic cancer, at any stage, recognizing that navigating this diagnosis while managing career responsibilities, young children, financial stress, and relationship changes presents a uniquely layered set of challenges. This group meets once a month for 90-minute online sessions, and is led by an experienced professional in a safe, confidential space where members can connect with peers who are living through the same intersection of cancer and life stage. Common topics include managing work during treatment, talking to children about a diagnosis, coping with financial strain, handling relationship changes, and dealing with fear and isolation. For many younger patients, finding others who are facing the same realities — not just the cancer, but everything cancer disrupts at this point in life — makes an enormous difference
Yes, Wellspring’s Pancreatic Cancer Peer Support program connects you one-on-one with a trained volunteer who has direct experience with cancer, offering a confidential, human conversation with someone who understands that this journey is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual all at once. During your session, your volunteer will listen, share from their own experience, and help orient you to the programs and resources available through both Wellspring and Pancreatic Cancer Canada — tailored to the needs you express. Wellspring will do its best to match you with someone whose experience is as close to yours as possible, and once the match is made, your volunteer will reach out by email to schedule a time that works for both of you. All of this is offered free of charge, without a referral, and entirely at your own pace.
Wellspring recognizes that a pancreatic cancer diagnosis — which carries the highest mortality rate of all major cancers — can place patients and families in a state of profound emotional and psychological crisis that sometimes requires more than peer or group support alone. The Short-Term Professional Counselling program, offered in partnership with Pancreatic Cancer North America, provides timely access to a professional counsellor for an assessment of serious personal issues, including clinical depression, suicidal thoughts, substance use concerns, or significant relationship difficulties. This program is specifically designed to ensure that members facing urgent mental health needs are seen by a professional quickly, and are connected to appropriate long-term resources or referrals when needed. If you or someone you love is struggling in a way that feels beyond coping, this program exists to make sure you don’t have to navigate that alone. Visit the Wellspring program portal to request an appointment, or reach out directly at communications@wellspring.ca or 1-877-499-9904.
Yes, in addition to its live support programs, Wellspring offers a library of self-paced video recordings specifically focused on pancreatic cancer, available on the website whenever you are ready to watch them. Topics covered include coping strategies for living with pancreatic cancer, exploring grief and moving forward after diagnosis, pancreatic cancer genetics, nutrition guidance covering pre-surgery nutrition, symptom management, diabetes and pancreatic cancer, and pancreatic enzymes, as well as a resource specifically for caregivers on being a good enough caregiver for someone living with pancreatic cancer. These recordings are designed to give patients and families access to practical, credible, cancer-specific information at their own pace — whether they’re waiting for a program to begin, processing a recent diagnosis, or simply not yet ready for a group setting. They are free and available without a referral or Wellspring account.
The evidence supporting structured cancer support programs — peer support, support circles, and professional counselling — is consistent and meaningful. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have documented significant improvements in quality of life, anxiety, and self-efficacy in cancer patients following social support interventions, and research specifically highlights that peer connection can be a vital source of knowledge and empowerment that helps patients take a more active role in their own care. For pancreatic cancer patients, whose diagnosis often arrives suddenly and carries an acute emotional weight, timely access to this kind of support is particularly critical — research confirms that emotional isolation is one of the most significant barriers to wellbeing for this population. Wellspring’s pancreatic cancer programs — the Support Circle, the Under 55 Circle, Peer Support, and Short-Term Professional Counselling — are each designed with this evidence in mind, and delivered in partnership with Pancreatic Cancer Canada to ensure they reflect the specific realities of this diagnosis.