We all know that when we are diagnosed we crave more information (or re-assurance). That is normal. And when health professionals advise us against "googling" they are not actually helping. We are going to google.
For me as a scientist I want to vet the information I am getting. Far too often people offer anecdotal evidence to give us something to hang on to. At best that can result in weird diet recommendations. At worst it can drop us into anxiety and uncertainty, and sometimes even shame if we read something like, "you have cancer because...."
So I always say, "google smart." For instance the major cancer centers (MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, Mayo and others) have good general information and can be trusted. There are other sources like www.survivornet.com That can help with general terms (like clinical trails for instance). The American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) can also be trusted. There are online groups that include people who are in the process (for instance colontown on Facebook which you can enter through www.paltown.org) that can be helpful.
I have found that the most important thing when googling is: 1. Shut it down when you start to feel overwhelmed. Take a deep breath. Take a short walk. Pay attention to how you are feeling and stop when you feel anxious. You can always go back to it. 2. Make sure the information you are getting has been peer reviewed. A site that just says, "trust us" and not "get a second opinion" may not contain healthy information for your journey.
And, if you are geeky like me, try and remember that you can limit your search to .edu if you want to read the real geeky scientific papers on what is going on. The truth is that research in cancer is going really fast. The options for treatment when I started did not include the treatment that eventually got me to "no evidence of disease" (NED). Where we are at now will change, and likely quickly.
Google smart my friends.
And this advice may also be true for non-cancerworld residents.
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