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The scientific literature has shown that some categories of patients are less able than others to access resources offered by the healthcare system, such as healthcare information for example. We wonder to what extent the help provided by friends and family during the course of their illness differs from patient to patient. Based on an ongoing study which analyses 18 cancer patients’ journeys, we show that access to resources through personal networks is not at all equal: certain illnesses will be able to rely on their friends and family to provide them with many different resources, while others will find themselves left completely to fend for themselves. The characteristics of the patients’ personal networks are described, as well as the kinds of resources supplied by the friends and family. Far from contributing to the reduction of inequalities in resource access for patients, the friends and family actually help to bring about inequalities.