You already know the phone number by heart, so how convenient that it’s now the number to dial for cancer support. Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. Today, anyone impacted by cancer can dial CSC-867-5309 toll-free to be connected to the Cancer Support Community (CSC) helpline.

 

“Our helpline receives over 20,000 calls annually from people seeking hope and connection during the times they need it most,” says CSC’s CEO, Sally Werner. “By anchoring CSC-867-5309 into the public consciousness, we’re ensuring that when someone is impacted by cancer, Cancer Support Community and Gilda’s Clubs are the first place they turn to.”

 

The nonprofit Gilda’s Club, named after Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner, who died of cancer, provides free social and emotional support to cancer patients and their families and friends.

 

The campaign’s website, csc8675309.com, reads: “When cancer touches your life, everything can feel overwhelming. In that moment, knowing who to call matters. If you or someone you love is facing cancer, call (272) 867-5309 for support.”

 

1.800.4.CANCER

Another resource at your fingertips is the Cancer Information Service (CIS), a taxpayer-funded program that acts as a bridge between the National Cancer Institute and the public. Based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, the free hotline offers help in English and Spanish. Trained specialists—real human beings not speaking from scripts!—give callers accurate information about cancer, research and clinical trials. Each day, CIS handles about 200 inquiries from across the country. “The public finds this especially helpful at a time when there is so much questionable information out there on the internet,” Adrianna Gutierrez, CIS’s director, tells Fred Hutch News Service. “It’s important that people have access to science-based information.”