The short answer
The Livestrong Foundation focuses on the practical and emotional side of surviving cancer, not treatment itself. Its programs include the Livestrong Fertility Network, a survivorship guidebook, and cancer-informed fitness classes through select YMCAs and online. It does not treat cancer and does not directly cover most medical costs.
Livestrong's Fertility Network offers discounted and free fertility services for patients whose treatment may affect their ability to have children, and reports over $107 million saved by patients so far.
The Livestrong Guidebook addresses emotional, physical and practical concerns after a diagnosis.
Cancer-Informed Fitness includes exercise programs through select YMCAs and virtual CancerFit classes.
The organization also works on cancer advocacy with legislators around access to care and research funding.
On this page
Choose how you want to read this
The whole article, with every detail and caution.
This page is for people with cancer and those close to them. It explains what the Livestrong Foundation offers today. It covers the fertility, guidebook, and fitness programs, and what the group cannot do.
A foundation focused on life after diagnosis
The Livestrong Foundation describes its mission as empowering people navigating cancer. It does this through accurate information, simplified medical guidance, practical advice and emotional support. That phrasing shows where the group spends its effort. It does not treat cancer. It focuses on the parts of a cancer experience that treatment alone does not fix.
Fertility help, in specific numbers
One of Livestrong's most concrete programs is the Livestrong Fertility Network. Cancer treatment can affect a person's ability to have children later on. Fertility preservation means steps to protect that ability, such as saving eggs or sperm. It is often possible only before treatment starts. Livestrong's network offers discounted and free fertility services aimed at exactly that situation.
The organization states that patients have saved over $107 million through this program to date. That is a specific, checkable claim. It signals that this is one of the foundation's central efforts, not a small side project.
Why the window is short
When fertility preservation is relevant, it usually has to happen before chemotherapy, radiation or certain surgeries begin. So the time to act is short. It often falls in the most overwhelming days right after diagnosis. Cost is also a real barrier. Ask your insurer and care team what is covered.
Many patients don't know this decision point exists until it is too late to act on it. So raise the question with your care team early. Do it even before you know if saving fertility matters to you.
The guidebook and Resource Center
The Livestrong Guidebook is described as a companion resource. It addresses emotional, physical and practical concerns after a diagnosis, and it includes organizing tools and wellness advice. It is not medical instruction. Think of it as a way to keep track of a life that suddenly got complicated. That means appointments, questions, decisions, and the feelings that come with them.
Alongside the guidebook, the foundation keeps a Resource Center. It gathers tools and educational material for cancer-related challenges that a strictly clinical conversation often overlooks.
Movement, not just information
Cancer-Informed Fitness is the foundation's exercise program. It includes classes offered in person at select YMCAs nationwide. It also has a virtual option called CancerFit. Certified instructors lead the classes. Ask your care team whether it fits your situation.
Exercise guidance during cancer is not one-size-fits-all. Fatigue, surgical recovery, and treatment side effects change what a safe, useful workout looks like. Ask your care team what is safe for you.
Talk with your care team before starting any exercise program. This matters most if you have physical limits from surgery, a port, or ongoing treatment.
Advocacy work
Livestrong also works with lawmakers. It focuses on patient access to care, survivor quality of life, and cancer research funding. This is policy work, not something a single patient deals with directly. Still, it is part of what the group does with its resources.
What Livestrong can do for you today
- Fertility: Worried about fertility before treatment starts? This is one of the more established places to ask about low-cost or free options.
- Organizing: The guidebook is built to help you handle the load of a new diagnosis. It covers both the emotional and the practical side.
- Exercise: Cleared to exercise? The Cancer-Informed Fitness classes are built around cancer. You can join in person or online.
What Livestrong cannot do
It is not a hospital, and it does not treat cancer. Nothing in its guidebook or Resource Center should be read as a substitute for your own oncology team's advice.
It does not cover most medical costs. Based on its own description, its main area of direct financial help is fertility services, not treatment bills.
It cannot guarantee a spot in every program. What is offered depends on where you live. This matters most for in-person fitness classes at a specific YMCA.
Before you rely on a number or program
Program details and contact information change. The organization lists a phone number, (877) 236-8820. It also works with a partner group called We Are Here. Check the current listing on their site before you treat any number as fixed. The safest first step is to visit livestrong.org/resources/ and see what applies to your situation.
Common questions
Does Livestrong pay for fertility treatment?
It describes offering discounted and free fertility services through the Livestrong Fertility Network, aimed at patients whose cancer treatment may affect fertility. Reach out through their resources to see what applies to your situation.
Is Livestrong the same as the yellow wristband from years ago?
The wristbands were part of the same foundation's earlier fundraising history. The organization today focuses on fertility support, survivorship guidance, fitness programs and advocacy.
What is CancerFit?
It is described as a virtual exercise class program led by certified instructors, part of Livestrong's broader Cancer-Informed Fitness offering alongside in-person classes at select YMCAs.
Does Livestrong treat cancer or offer medical advice?
No. It is not a treatment provider. Its guidebook and resources are meant to support you outside the clinical relationship with your own care team.
How do I find a Livestrong fitness program near me?
The organization points to select YMCA locations offering the in-person program, alongside a virtual option, so check the current list on their site for what is available near you.
Who do I contact for help?
The foundation lists a phone number and works with a partner organization called We Are Here, reachable through their website. Contact details can change, so verify the current number on their site.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Your next step
Turn this topic into questions for your next appointment.
Talk with a trained specialist or navigator
Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
Talk to a trained cancer information specialist
Free, confidential assistance from NCI Cancer Information Service via phone, chat, or email.
Contact your oncology team
Locate after-hours contact numbers, portal messages, or urgent triage phone lines.
Find a patient navigator
Get one-on-one help with appointments, logistics, translation, and care coordination.
Find a genetic counselor
Discuss inherited mutation risk, family history, and genetic testing options.
Find an oncology social worker
Access emotional counseling, family support groups, and mental health resources.
Find a financial navigator
Locate copay assistance foundations, grant programs, and lodging/travel support.
Find a clinical-trial specialist
Search matching studies and speak with NCI trial information specialists.
Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Sources last checked: 2026-09-03 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-16Next planned review: 2027-09-03
Review details and limits
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status — Editorial review complete. This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
General education. Low-risk educational or organizational content. Medical facts are cited to authoritative sources.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
Read more about our editorial process, our use of AI, and our corrections policy.
Spotted a problem? Report an error — a factual mistake, broken or outdated source, confusing wording, or anything that seems unsafe. Please do not include names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying medical information in your report.
After using this page, do you understand what to do next?
Anonymous — we only record the answer, never who gave it.