When a woman receives a diagnosis of cancer, if she is married, her husband is thrust into the role of caregiver, a role that can be overwhelming. Our culture's expectations of men can complicate this new role even further.

Here is some advice for husbands whose wives have been diagnosed with cancer, from Rene Barrat-Gordon, LISW, a social worker at The Cleveland Clinic:

Never falsely reassure her there is nothing to worry about. Anyone with cancer worries.

Don't feel the need to fix everything.

Have at least one person you can talk with besides your partner. And consider the "safety" and friendliness of a support group.

It's OK to cry-even in front of your partner. It doesn't mean you're weak; it means you love her and you feel afraid, anxious or sad.

For more advice on this topic from Barrat-Gordon, please go here.

Listed here are three organizations that set a strong example to help the cause of cancer research:

Men With Heart --Their mission as seen on their website:

We are husbands who are doing something constructive rather than resigning ourselves to helplessness. We are sons who have seen our mothers courageously fight an insidious disease. We are brothers who want to stand beside our sisters in this battle. We are relatives, friends, lovers, colleagues, neighbors, and admirers of the women who are struggling with, often beating, and, regrettably, sometimes losing the fight with breast cancer.

We do our best to raise awareness, funds, and smiles. We participate in a variety of breast cancer events, wearing our trademark yellow shirts, including the Avon 2-Day Walks, the Komen 3-Day Walks, and the American Cancer Society Making Strides Walk. We walk with the goals of spreading good cheer, encouraging a spirit of camaraderie, and helping our fellow walkers. We also host a gala party every year and a racing event in the fall. We support and get involved with a variety of other breast cancer causes, organizations, and events.

Since our inception in 2001, Men With Heart has raised over $600,000 for breast cancer prevention, treatment, and awareness.

Men Against Breast Cancer -- The MABC mission is to provide targeted support services to educate and empower men to be effective caregivers when breast cancer strikes the family of a loved one: as well as target and mobilize men to be active participants in a fight to eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening disease.

MABC recognizes breast cancer is a family issue that devastates the entire family. Our philosophy is to leverage the support of the whole family to help the patient, with special emphasis on the important role of the husband/partner in caring for the woman he loves. At the same time, MABC recognizes and supports that the ultimate decisions regarding treatment and care are those of the patient.

Together in Breast Cancer Survival: A Men's Caregiver Support Group --Their mission to be a presence that will give you the support and tools you will need to be a proactive and informed caregiver to your loved one. Our goal is to be here for you as you journey with your loved one through the cancer diagnosis, surgery, prognosis, recovery and beyond.

She said she hopes we get to visit again sometime soon -- without feeling the need to talk solely about breast cancer. I have the same hope. Yet I am deeply satisfied with the conversation we shared about our similar cancer journeys -- mine two years old; hers brand new.

We had never before met -- or even spoken -- and knew each other only from an exchange of e-mails. It was this Cancer Blog that drew us together. She left a comment on one of my posts, I sent her a personal e-mail, and swiftly, our friendship blossomed.

I met my newest cancer friend this weekend -- face-to-face, up close and personal. It was lovely. We talked about chemotherapy -- she just completed her second treatment -- and wigs and radiation and about how our husbands and children cope with cancer. We talked for more than an hour, and then went our separate ways.

And now we are back to e-mail correspondence and our shared hope -- that we will one day meet again, to talk about more than just breast cancer.

A new observational study reveals that women diagnosed with breast cancer who have supportive friends and family survive breast cancer at a higher rate than women who are socially isolated. According to researchers, "Social connections matter for breast cancer survival. Among women with breast cancer, social isolation may serve to limit access to care, specifically, informal care giving from friends and family, which may affect breast cancer outcomes."

University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco researchers found that women with close relatives, friends and living children each had greater breast cancer survival rates. In comparison, women who had no close relatives or friends were about three and four times more likely to die from breast cancer. Also, those who had no living children had a nearly six-fold increased risk of death from breast cancer in comparison to those with six or more living children. The rest of us with children, but less than six children, would fall somewhere in between those statistics?

Other research has shown that women who participate in breast cancer support groups faired much better in surviving cancer, than those who did not take part in a group. I believe it is the social connection itself that makes a difference, and can be any type of social support -- close friends, family, children, church groups, talk support groups -- as long as the woman was actively involved in the relationship. Past research has shown that the simple act of a hug positively alters the physical chemistry of the people in the hug. Human beings were not psychologically designed to be alone, and isolation without cancer can lead to diseases. We need each other. Empathy, compassion and love sustain us, mend us, give us hope, help us heal. 

As you drive through the neighborhoods surrounding the former Kelly Air Force Base in Texas, you will notice small purple crosses planted in front lawns. The crosses mark the homes of cancer victims. The people who live in these neighborhoods call where they live the toxic triangle. They believe they have been poisoned by the industrial solvent, trichloroethylene, or TCE, that was dumped at the base for decades and subsequently spread for miles through a shallow aquifer under the 22,000 nearby houses.

The local health authorities admit they have found evidence of increased rates of liver cancer and birth defects for the residents of these neighborhoods, but state it is impossible to say that TCE is the cause. The residents are absolutely certain TCE is the cause of the cancers that plague the people who live there. And this same fate is playing out all over the country, in other cities that are home to military bases, industrial plants, nuclear weapons laboratories and NASA centers.