Site Helps Cancer Patients Connect

New Web Site Helps Cancer Patients Connect


The American Cancer Society is offering a new Web site that promises to help people facing cancer more easily find the peers, resources, and information they need.

WhatNext, developed with the participation of the American Cancer Society, uses unique technology to match users with similar experiences such as diagnosis, treatment, and other factors. It provides an easy way for users to share details of their cancer experience, allows them to ask and answer questions, and points them to American Cancer Society cancer information, as well as local resources vetted by the Society.

The goal is to help the newly diagnosed know what to expect, and offer people who’ve walked the same road a way to help others. All information shared on the site is public.

“We are proud to have the American Cancer Society offer WhatNext to provide people affected by cancer with an efficient way to quickly connect with peers and resources specific to their needs,” said David Wasilewski, founder of WhatNext. “Dealing with cancer is emotionally and physically draining. Connecting with others who have been down that road is extraordinarily meaningful, for those who have questions and for people who have answers.”

WhatNext is the newest offering in the suite of American Cancer Society online support services, which also include the Cancer Survivors Network and Circle Of Sharing.

WhatNext emphasizes the treatment journey, while Cancer Survivors Network is more focused on emotional support. Circle Of Sharing customizes cancer information that users can share and creates a Personal Health Record.

“The services really complement each other,” says Roshini George, national vice president for Health Promotion at the American Cancer Society. “Though they’re all designed to offer support, each one does so in a slightly different way and has its own unique features that will appeal to different kinds of users.”

Cancer

Cancer, known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a term for a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. Not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors do not grow uncontrollably, do not invade neighbouring tissues, and do not spread throughout the body.
Healthy cells control their own growth and will destroy themselves if they become unhealthy. Cell division is a complex process that is normally tightly regulated. Cancer occurs when problems in the genes of a cell prevent these controls from functioning properly. These problems may come from damage to the gene or may be inherited, and can be caused by various sources inside or outside of the cell. Faults in two types of genes are especially important: oncogenes, which drive the growth of cancer cells, and tumor suppressor genes, which prevent cancer from developing.
Determining what causes cancer is complex, and it is often impossible to assign a specific cause for a specific cancer. Many things are known to increase the risk of cancer, including tobacco use, infection, radiation, lack of physical activity, poor diet and obesity, and environmental pollutants.1- These can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults within cells to cause the disease.2- A small percentage of cancers, approximately five to ten percent, are entirely hereditary.
Cancer can be detected in a number of ways, including the presence of certain signs and symptoms, screening tests, or medical imaging. Once a possible cancer is detected it is diagnosed by microscopic examination of a tissue sample. Cancer is usually treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. The chances of surviving the disease vary greatly by the type and location of the cancer and the extent of disease at the start of treatment. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types of cancer are more common in children, the risk of developing cancer generally increases with age. In 2007, cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths worldwide (7.9 million). Rates are rising as more people live to an old age and as mass lifestyle changes occur in the developing world