Social Media And Cancer Awareness: Are We Smart Enough To Take Advantage Of The Opportunity?

This past week I had the privilege of participating in a meeting hosted by the President's Cancer Panel on the role of social media in improving cancer control and treatment. The goal was to give advice to the Panel on a planned series of meetings they will be convening to discuss the topic. It was the range and quality of the discussion that day that left me thinking about the broader topic of social media and how it could help improve cancer control going forward. I do not profess to be a social media expert. I do (obviously) engage in social media in a couple of ways, primarily through my blogs and Twitter (@DrLen), but I am not an addict. And notwithstanding the fact that social media has become a standard communication format for many folks, especially the younger generation, I still wonder how we are going to harness this revolution to improve what people know about cancer, what we can do with that information and how we can raise awareness about cancer-related issues such as new treatments, prevention, survivorship and clinical trials among many other topics. The reality is that there hasn't been much impact of social media on cancer care, except in a few areas. Survivorship is one, where patients, families and caregivers communicate in communities about their similar experiences. Celebrities have an influence in social media when it comes to cancer: Angelina Jolie is one of several who have influenced many women by telling their story publicly then having that story ...
Source: Dr. Len's Cancer Blog - Category: Cancer Authors: Tags: Access to care Breast Cancer Cancer Care Colon Cancer Diet Early detection Heatlh Information Technology Media Prevention Research Screening Survivors Tobacco Treatment Source Type: blogs