After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, as approximately 12% of women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. life (Ma, Jemal 2013). After being diagnosed with breast cancer, women face significant psychological and social challenges in coping with the disease. Many studies have examined the role of social support in cancer progression. Having a strong social support system is commonly believed to help individuals during the course of their illness (Dunkel-Schetter 1984). This review will specifically ask whether various forms of social support always have a positive influence on an individual's ability to cope with breast cancer. Most of the literature indicates that a strong social support system is beneficial to cancer patient well-being. However, as I will explain throughout this review, not all forms of social support are beneficial, in fact some instances of social support can be harmful and can produce conflict between members of the support group. This finding is not common, however it is important to mention to understand the role of social support as a whole. Through the examination of five academic studies I will describe various forms of social support and their subsequent effects on breast cancer management. Reviewing the literature on the role of social support during the course of breast cancer, I found that the majority of studies showed social support as having a positive effect on individuals' health and well-being. Studies have shown that there are many different forms of social support, each with their own positive effects on managing breast cancer. This is demonstrated through the academic articles: “Social Support, Accommodation to…… middle of paper……l, A. (2013) Breast Cancer Metastasis and Drug Resistance. 1-18Snyder, K.S., Pearse W., (2010). Crisis, social support, and family response: Exploring the narratives of young breast cancer survivors. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology. 28(4) doi: 10.1080/07347332.2010.484830 Taleghani, F., Babazadeh, S., Mosavi S., Tavazohi H., (2012) The effects of peer support group on promoting quality of life in patients with breast cancer breast. Iran J Nursery Midwives Res. 17(2): 125-130. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696969/Yoo W., Namkoong K., Choi M., Shah DV, Tsang S., Hong Y., Aguilar M., Gustafson DH, (2014), Giving and receiving emotional support online: communication competence as a moderator of psychosocial benefits for women with breast cancer. Computers in human behavior. 30:13-22. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.024