When you join a Facebook or other social media support group, you become part of a network of people who have been through surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and everything that comes with these treatments. “You’re not just sharing emotional experiences, but you can also share tips and tricks for how to handle side effects or deal with other things that come up in the course of treatment,” says Kaleena Chilcote, MD, the director of psycho-oncology at Cleveland Clinic.
Online groups are full of information, but not all of it is accurate. When researchers combed through nearly 300,000 social media posts about 17 types of cancer, they found that almost 30 percent contained misinformation, more than 20 percent contained harmful information, and around 12 percent were essentially advertising pitches for supplements or other products.
You might see recommendations online to “Try X supplement or X alternative treatment” for colon cancer. When you have late-stage cancer or other treatments haven’t helped, it can be tempting advice to follow. Group members may also share home remedies or “miracle cures” out of a genuine desire to help. Experts call this “misguided altruism.” Although the information is shared with the best intentions, it could be dangerous to follow.
Many social media groups don’t have a moderator to check the posts and make sure they’re accurate. “There’s always the possibility that things being shared are not factual. They may not be based on what we call ‘evidence-based medicine,'” Dr. Chilcote says.
Trying a therapy that’s been recommended by other cancer patients online is risky. For one thing, it might not work. Sometimes even proven treatments that are effective for one person don’t help others. An unproven cancer remedy could cause harmful side effects or interfere with the effectiveness of the evidence-based cancer treatment your doctor prescribed, Chilcote says.
A random alternative remedy you found online might even lower your odds of survival. A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that people who used only alternative therapies were almost five times more likely to die of colorectal cancer than those who used conventional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Read the full article here
