Breast Cancer and Google

djmammo

HERE is an interesting article on this subject from American Cancer Society including how to evaluate the information you find.

Here is an excerpt: "Cancer information on the Internet comes from many different sources – expert health organizations, government agencies, universities, merchants, interest groups, the general public, and scam artists. Anyone can post any kind of information online and some people may be passing along information that's limited, inaccurate, or just plain wrong. Some even try to deceive you.

Scam artists and other dishonest people use the Internet for 2 main reasons: low cost and relative anonymity (no one knows who they are). What's more, the message or product gets out to people all over the world.

The nature of the web makes it easier to mislead people. For example, if you saw a sign in front of a small, run-down store that claimed it was the largest supplier of medical devices in the United States, you'd probably be suspicious right away. But if you saw a professional-looking site on the Internet making the same claim, you might have a harder time deciding if it was real.

This is not to say that you shouldn't trust anything on the Internet – just that you have to choose your sources carefully. Even on trusted, highly regarded websites, it's important to note that the health information is just general information that might not apply to you at all. Always remember that the information found online should not take the place of medical advice. If you have a health-related problem, please talk to a doctor. There's no other way to get the same experience and care as sitting down with a health care provider who can look at your health history, your unique medical situation, examine you, and talk with you about how you've been feeling."

mustlovepoodles

Thank you, djmammo. Always the voice of reason. It's disheartening to see so many women, especially young women in their teens and 20s, come here looking for answers and without any exams or testing have already convinced themselves that they have very rare breast cancers.

Rizz

thanks djmammo for this post

Traveltext

There’s many times when the internet is the only source of reliable and accurate medical information, especially for those living in areas remote from medical services and in countries where high level providers are simply not available to see or where such services are beyond people’s means. None of these situations relate to me, but when I had a GP who didn’t refer me for IBC symptoms I went straight to google which took me straight to BCO. Then, when I couldn’t find much info on male bc I built a website bringing informative articles together in one place. My point is, that as long as you go to websites run by reputable institutions you’ll get lots of good advice and help with your disease or condition. Fortunately google has recognised the importance of putting the highest quality results at the top of the rankings and this is a huge leap forward from the old days when scammers often got on the first page.

And when worried people do turn up here via google, ironically young men with breast lumps, I try to help them through a time when they are getting short shrift from the medical profession. Fortunately their worries are most often baseless.