Raising Awareness: The Role of Social Media In Supporting People Who Are Dealing With Malignant Diseases
- Written by Business Daily Media
Technology has transformed the world we live in, offering numerous benefits to individuals, businesses, and communities. For instance, technology has facilitated easier and faster communication, enabled access to a wealth of information and knowledge, and made many tasks more efficient and convenient.
Furthermore, technology has played a pivotal role in solving some of the world's most pressing challenges, such as improving healthcare, mitigating climate change, and enhancing education.
In today's world, having a reliable and secure internet connection is crucial, as it is the backbone of most technological innovations and advancements. It enables individuals and organizations to access a wide range of services and tools, collaborate with others in real-time, and stay connected with the rest of the world. Check out this page for more information.
Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms have become an emerging source of social support, especially for individuals with malignant diseases like cancer.
How can you help a loved one dealing with a malignant disease? Can social media connect these individuals with communities for help and advice? How can you start connecting with cancer support groups through social media?
This article will explain why social media is a helpful medium to connect with people living with cancer worldwide. This write-up can also show you how to connect with cancer groups online through social media.
People living with cancer need all the love, care, and support they can get. Besides the help they receive from family and friends, they can also get support from other people living in similar situations.
Social media made the world irreversibly smaller, as people from different countries are now a chat away. This level of communication makes it easy for people with cancer to connect with other cancer patients and survivors.
How Useful Is Social Media in Cancer Care
Millions of people live with cancer, and all of them undergo a personal battle against the disease. Before the rise of the internet and social media, communication was difficult, especially with people from the other side of the globe.
Nowadays, you can quickly connect with people from different countries and time zones through the internet and social media. The improved communication and the development of social media suddenly provided a new way for people with similar cancer conditions to talk with each other in their fight against this disease.
There is a growing body of medical research into social media's benefit in providing adequate cancer care for those in need. Here are the things the researchers found out.
- Cancer patients are most likely to turn to social media when distressed
- Cancer patients learn about their disease through social media
- Cancer patients use social media to get distracted from their condition
- Cancer patients use social media for support
A few more observations include:
- How cancer patients can spread the word
Mainstream media doesn’t always release news about cancer. But with social media, you can get information as quickly as possible through hashtags that make spreading the word easier.
- How cancer patients can join the conversation
Before social media, people had no direct way to talk with any publisher or writer. But now, you can reply to various posts and ask questions.
- How cancer patients can engage with topics related to their situations
You can join a conversation, share your experiences with others, and be part of a community that aims to promote care for people with this disease.
Social media strategies can help a lot in giving cancer patients the added care and support they need. Social media helps by ensuring they are connected with care groups and organizations that focus on guiding people to cope with cancer.
Ways to Connect With Cancer Groups Online
Social media is a lively place to share ideas, information, interests, opinions, and care with billions of people worldwide. It’s a web of life stories shared with everyone who has the time to view snippets of other people’s lives.
For people with cancer, one outlet they can go to is social media. Some individuals even vlog their battle against the disease. Vlogging is a way of release, a coping mechanism, and a place to connect with people who care.
To improve communication between people living under the same condition, you can do these ways to link them to organizations that can help them. These communities can be with them as they navigate this challenging part of their lives.
There are many methods to connect with people or groups online. The easiest way is to search through the millions of pages on social media sites for that one group that can help. But you need to determine first if that group is the one you need.
You should consider these things when choosing a group or community that will be part of your journey through cancer.
- Does the group provide patient engagement and empowerment?
- Does the group provide psychosocial support?
- Does the group provide information support?
- Does the group encourage a healthy relationship between patients and healthcare providers or physicians?
- Does the group provide updates on cancer research and news about medical breakthroughs?
- Does the group have safeguards against misinformation?
- Does the group prevent extortion?
If the group you’re planning to join answers “yes” to all of these questions, it’s a community that can help. You can quickly sign up with these organizations, join the conversation, and start connecting with people living with cancer.
You don’t have to fight this battle alone. You have a community of warriors eager to help you win your war against this disease.
References
- Internet and social media use in cancer patients: association with distress and perceived benefits and limitations
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33651181/
- Cancer and Social Media: How Can We Use It to Improve Care? https://www.cancer.net/blog/2017-08/cancer-and-social-media-how-can-we-use-it-improve-care
