Online Cancer Support Groups - A Must For The Cancer Patient
Patients often wonder if they can use the internet for other purposes other than researching cancer treatment and information.
In fact, one of the additional benefits of the internet is that it allows people with common interests or problems from all over the world to share their experiences in online support groups. This applies to cancer, of course, and there are many online cancer support groups for almost every type of cancer.
These internet-based cancer communities are a potential goldmine of information. Think about the opportunity.
Imagine that you were in a room of 500 other patients who had been diagnosed with the same disease that you’re researching. Some may have been diagnosed recently. Others may have been diagnosed a few years previously.
Everybody in that room would have gone through the process of researching various cancer therapies, talking to other patients, and talking to medical specialists. Many of these cancer patients would have researched the latest research from the conventional medical establishment.
Some in the room would have also researched the alternative and so-called natural cancer treatments available.
Many people in the room would have already undergone treatment and would be in a position to comment on how effective the treatment was and what side effects they experienced.
People may comment on how they were treated at a top medical center and you would be able to compare it to the treatment you may be about to receive at your medical center.
A good online cancer support group is the internet equivalent of being in that room with 500 other patients.
But, like most things in life that have a lot of potential benefit, there is a potential downside.
The downside is that although patients’ personal stories may be extremely informative, you must remember that learning about one other person’s experience does not mean that everybody will have the same experience.
You should use these forums as an opportunity to get a sense of what the controversial issues are and what avenues other highly motivated patients are pursuing in their research.
Then, you should combine the information you’ve gained from the online forums with the more scientific and credible information that you’ll have searched for at the major government cancer sites.
The best forums are moderated though so that no one can blatantly pitch commercial products or cures that they intend to profit from. These moderators read every post and suspend the privileges of any one who disregards the policies of the list.
These online cancer support groups are so valuable that you may want to join a number of them. But, I would be wary of any non-moderated list which seemed to have a lot of commercial messages.
In the final analysis, it’s probably best if you combine all the information you have received from all the different types of searching you have done, and sit down with your doctors for an informed discussion.