Social Media and Breast Cancer Resilience
A breast cancer diagnosis presents challenges, especially for men who are so often left to navigate a diagnosis and treatment in a vacuum. Medical professionals are busy people; it’s just not possible to see them without long notice and they can’t possibility give their patients their full attention week in, week out. Patients, therefore, need a strategy that connects them to their patient peers, new research, and a professional medical community with individuals engaged and thoughtful enough to post on social media sites.
Personal resilience, important for coping with unexpected changes and challenges in life, is an asset never more valuable when having to face a cancer diagnosis. Coping with the medical aspects of a disease is stressful, and by applying your inner strength, along with the strengths of others, you can belong to social media support groups that can help you take control of your diagnosis and treatment.
Becoming resilient is not just learning as much as possible about your treatment so that you can follow what is happening, rather it’s about using this knowledge effectively. Learning how to interpret knowledge gained, and sharing information by connecting with willing medical professionals, builds your self-confidence. And training your brain to be analytical is an important part of your patient experience and is a sound basis for confidently passing on your knowledge to others.
Social media can play an important role in supporting cancer resilience, which refers to a person’s ability to adapt to and cope with the challenges of a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
How to make the most of social media
1. Social media can provide access to coping strategies and self-care tips, such as mindfulness practices, exercise routines, and healthy eating habits. These resources can help individuals manage the physical and emotional side effects of cancer and treatment.
2. Social media platforms provide easy access to information about cancer, including treatment options, clinical trials, and supportive resources. It helps you feel more informed and empowered to make decisions about care.
3. You can connect with people online who have similar experiences, providing a sense of community and support. This can be particularly useful for those of us who may not have access to in-person support groups or who are geographically isolated.
4. You can look for emotional support, with individuals sharing their own stories and offering words of encouragement and empathy to others going through a similar experience. This can help people feel less alone and more understood.
5. Social media can be a powerful tool for cancer advocacy and raising awareness. Individuals can use social media platforms to share their stories, advocate for better cancer care and resources, and raise funds for cancer research.
Find Your Tribe
People often ask me why I’m so active on breast cancer social media forums and on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Basically, it’s to support others and get support for myself. In answer to why I would trade my privacy for full access to a public forum, especially Twitter, less so on closed Facebook pages, I say I’ve weighed up the negatives, such as sorting out misinformation and myths from quality information that is available from the sites run by cancer medical institutions. I’ve also learned to handle information overload by focusing on areas of need for myself and my social media colleagues. In other words, not straying too far from what I need to know.
The positives outweigh the negatives, especially for a man like myself dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. These include: psychological and social support, education from medical professionals about the benefits of particular research outcomes, and finding medical trials and studies that choose to recruit my cohort.
Examples of breast cancer communities I’ve found useful online are BreastCancer.org, the Facebook pages, Beyond the Pink Moon and Men Talk Breast Cancer, and an active Twitter breast cancer community under several hashtags, including #bcsm. When a second primary cancer, prostate, came along, it wasn’t too long before I found new online communities to plug into.
The engagement and empowerment of social media helps me build a support team, communicate and bond with other cancer survivors, cope with the stress and anxiety of treatment, and improves my problem solving and coping strategies. And, I would suggest that resilience is as important as exercise, since building a strong mind is as important as building a strong body.
Overall, social media can provide a valuable source of support and information for people navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, it is important to remember that social media should not replace medical advice or in-person support from healthcare professionals and loved ones.