Evidence is piling up in favor of peer health communities. The question is: How do we sustain them for the long-term? Here are 3 studies (of many) about the benefits of peer-to-peer health advice: A survey of the #bcsm community found that participation lowered people’s anxiety and increased their overall knowledge of breast cancer. A survey of […]
breast cancer
Celebrating #BCSM as a peer health innovation
Cancer patients were among my first peer health innovation teachers and remain, years later, among my favorite communities to follow. I keep an eye out for hashtags like #gyncsm (gynecological cancer social media), #bcsm (breast cancer social media), and #lcsm (lung cancer social media) on Twitter. I listen to podcasts like The Cancer Mavericks (and […]
Case study: Breast cancer
When we get sick or receive a new diagnosis, we often feel alone, but we shouldn’t. There are people who have been in the same situation and are eager to help if they only knew how to find us. That is the case with my friend Meagan. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She […]
The New York Times: “Sometimes Patients Simply Need Other Patients”
Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frankt co-wrote an excellent article about peer-to-peer health care in The New York Times today. An excerpt: In an ideal world, when we are faced with a new health problem, a clinician is available to sit down and address all our questions and anxieties about the condition and its treatment. […]
Ribbons, ribbons, everywhere
Peggy Orenstein‘s article, “Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer,” is worth one of your precious NYTimes.com chits (unless, of course, you’re a subscriber, in which case you have hopefully already devoured it). But don’t just take my word for it, read this post by Katherine O’Brien of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Network — the bloggers […]
Stress: the New Normal for Cancer Patients?–Susannah Fox
Deborah Bell is actively involved in cancer advocacy and manages several online communities for cancer patients, their families, and their friends, having been an ACOR listowner for 11 years, and a listmember for 13. She contributed the following essay: I know a 15-year breast cancer survivor who was just diagnosed with a recurrence in the […]
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