Monday, October 15, 2012

Power of We - online support

Today is Blog Action Day 2012. The topic this year is the "Power of We". This reminds me of the commercial which shows the young girl singing the Star Spangled Banner and forgets the words. Then the audience starts singing with her and giving her the words. That is the Power of We.

We can do things together. What are some of the things that happen we people act together: Candidates get elected and laws get created. But also chat rooms and message boards allow us to join together and help each other.

Since being diagnosed with cancer a second time, I have learned about the support I can get by finding and bonding with people who are going through a similar diagnosis. Actually I first found out about message boards when I had a hysterectomy in 2005 and found hystersisters.org which provides great support and information for those having the surgery. I can't tell you how many people I have referred to that site since.

For breast cancer there are many message boards out there. One of the best ones is on breastcancer.org. The Komen website used to have some very active message boards but managed to lose many participants through poor handling on their end - including software updates, poor moderation, and lack of tech support.

For thyroid cancer,  I have found that the Thyroid Cancer Survivor's Association's message boards provide no end of support as well.

Now when I have a new ailment, I go to find the message boards that will help me.

These are all examples of how people coming together and sharing their knowledge and experiences helps others. This is what happens when people work together.

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