Since we have been slow on our food posts this month, I thought I would take a moment to share a networking site that a good friend works on called “IHadCancer.com.” It is a social support network with the mission of helping people deal more effectively with life before, during and after cancer. -ts
Info about the company:
IHadCancer.com is the brainchild of Mailet Lopez, a 36-year old breast cancer survivor who found herself both overwhelmed and alone while battling the disease, despite the support of family and friends. Mailet, who fled Cuba with her family in the 1980s and co-founded a digital media agency on the heels of 9/11, put her digital media expertise to work to create a site that would help people connect with others in their shoes.
And while there are countless websites devoted to cancer education, research, treatment and advocacy – as well as to specific types of the disease — until now, there has not been a comprehensive social networking site with the sole mission of building a community around the experiences and personal stories of cancer patients, survivors and their supporters. And, if you follow the findings of a recent Pew study, while people continue to turn to professionals for an diagnosis and treatment options, they are significantly more likely to seek out non-professionals when they’re searching for emotional support. This doesn’t even begin to touch the fact that other existing cancer websites are poorly designed, exclusive (to cancer survivors or the newly diagnosed) and in the end often leave the user feeling even worse due to the lack of information about real-life questions. These two reasons — along with Mailet’s experience battling cancer as a digital citizen — are why we created I Had Cancer.
And while there are countless websites devoted to cancer education, research, treatment and advocacy – as well as to specific types of the disease — until now, there has not been a comprehensive social networking site with the sole mission of building a community around the experiences and personal stories of cancer patients, survivors and their supporters. And, if you follow the findings of a recent Pew study, while people continue to turn to professionals for an diagnosis and treatment options, they are significantly more likely to seek out non-professionals when they’re searching for emotional support. This doesn’t even begin to touch the fact that other existing cancer websites are poorly designed, exclusive (to cancer survivors or the newly diagnosed) and in the end often leave the user feeling even worse due to the lack of information about real-life questions. These two reasons — along with Mailet’s experience battling cancer as a digital citizen — are why we created I Had Cancer.
Video resources/assets:
“You are not alone” – a video we put together last month that features a group of our users talking about their experience with cancer.
“The founder’s story” – a video of the founding team explaining why I Had Cancer is necessary, how it works and how we can help people deal with cancer.
Information resources/assets:
Spokesperson’s story – a profile page set up by our spokesperson/founder Mailet Lopez that chronicles her entire journey through cancer
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