When you are diagnosed with breast cancer dozens of thoughts go through your head, as well as questions.  There are many ways to get answers to your many questions – you can ask your doctor, search the web and rely on the help of others who’ve had breast cancer.  One helpful way to get answers to your questions is online message boards. 

Although this may seem a little impersonal at first or if you aren’t used to going on the web, it may even seem tricky.  However, online breast cancer message boards are in fact a great resource and you may even make some new friends. 

Here are the top five reasons that you should go online to get answers to your questions:

  • People on message boards have already been through what you are facing, they’ve asked many of the same questions and can provide you with answers.
  • You get a chance to tell people how you are feeling in a safe environment. You can vent your feelings and write things down that you may not normally feel like saying out loud to friends and family. 

  • If you want to keep your privacy it’s not a problem.  You can stay anonymous just using a nickname when you login if you prefer
  • People on message boards are going through what you are going through and you can bond and relate together.  Even if you have the support of friends and family around you its helpful to talk to people who can relate to your exact situation. 

  • You can make new friends.  It is a way to turn online friendships into offline coffee, so you may even meet people in your area if you are looking for more support than just from your computer screen.

Here’s a list of just a few of the message boards out there that you may want to give a try:

-Breastcancer.org has their own community which is very popular.   

 -Y-Me.org has a forum area that is quite well organized.

 -National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. has their own forum area too.

 These are just a small sampling of great message boards out there for you to get answers to your tough questions and get a little friendly support when you need it.