Attainability of support—Availability of resources to provide support, advocacy and
community throughout survivorship is the third category of antecedents. Informal support
refers to access to social support from family and friends in the form of emotional, tangible
and informational support that is specific to the unique needs of the survivor. Such support
acts as a foundation for the survivor to initiate the process of self-advocacy. Formal support
refers to the presence of established support groups and organizations that provide
opportunities for survivors to connect with other survivors, help others ‘going down the
same path,’ and make changes to the delivery of cancer care (Lythcott et al. 2003, Meneses
et al. 2010, Zeigler et al. 2004). The availability of cancer advocacy groups is an example of
formal support resources, which are established to advocate for cancer survivors at a local or
national level, but also benefit individual survivors (McCabe et al. 1995, Norton 1998). As
an antecedent to becoming a self-advocate, survivors must have access to these support
resources to take advantage of them to meet their personal needs prior to actively
participating and leading in these groups (Conlon et al. 2010, Temple 2002