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Photo by Rhoda Baer
Loved ones of cancer patients often turn to the Internet for further information about the disease, but they are less inclined to seek emotional support from social media forums, according to a study published in Computers, Informatics, Nursing.
It is fairly common for loved ones of cancer patients to develop depression or anxiety disorders as a result of the diagnosis, but there aren’t many studies focusing specifically on cancer patients’ caregivers and family members, said study author Carolyn Lauckner, PhD, of the University of Georgia in Athens.
“I think, sometimes, the loved ones and caregivers get forgotten about,” she said. “And that’s why I wanted to research this population to see if there are ways that we can better support these individuals.”
Dr Lauckner surveyed 191 people whose loved ones were diagnosed with cancer in the past year or who were currently acting as caregivers to someone with cancer. The motivation behind the research was personal for Dr Lauckner.
“I went through a period of time where I had 3 loved ones diagnosed within a short amount of time,” she said. “I had these experiences where I heard about the diagnosis and I would go online to look it up, and then I would immediately become terrified and freak out about all the stuff I read online.”
Like Dr Lauckner, more than 75% of the subjects she surveyed searched online for information on a loved one’s disease. Most looked for treatment options, prevention strategies and risk factors, and prognosis information.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who said that they were looking for prevention information online and detection information,” Dr Lauckner said. “[T]hat shows that not only are they concerned for their loved one but they’re also concerned about how they themselves can avoid cancer, which, from a public health perspective, is great.”
Respondents were less inclined to view blogs or go online to hear about others’ cancer experiences. These kinds of sites were linked to negative emotions for participants, such as fear, sadness, and anger.
“A lot of people, especially in the cancer realm, they will use blogs or discussion posts to vent and to talk about the harsh realities of living with an illness,” Dr Lauckner said.
“And while I think that that is beneficial for both the person who is writing it and potentially for some people who want an idea of what to expect, when someone is dealing with the prospect of their loved one having to go through that experience, it can be extremely distressing.”
The most commonly visited websites were those of charitable organizations like the American Cancer Society, which were associated with positive emotions. Dr Lauckner said she found this information encouraging because it shows that participants were consulting reliable sources of information and not being swayed by personal accounts as much.
Dr Lauckner ultimately wants to build on the information gleaned in this study to determine the most effective use of social media and technology to distribute cancer prevention and risk reduction messages to the public.
