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WHAT’S INSIDE……..
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* CancerEducation.com
* Cancer Forums & Chat Rooms
* Duke and The Doctor
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CancerEducation.com
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If you or a loved one suffer from cancer, you need to check
out this web site. They publish a weekly newsletter with
information on all types of cancer. They publish a second
newsletter called the Patient and Family Message Board
Newsletter. Hundreds of links follow a short summary of
the message you will find at the link. Messages are grouped
by type of cancer. They are sponsoring a live “webcast” on
December 14th. Just click here and go have a look:
http://www.cancereducation.com
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Cancer Forums & Chat Rooms
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The Internet is becoming a very handy alternative to in-
person support group meetings. On the Internet, there
are two ways to interact with other cancer patients and
caregivers. Each serves a different, but similar, purpose.
One is the list-server. This is a group of people with
common interests, cancer in this case, who sign up to
receive e-mail from each other. The e-mail messages
usually go through to the list members without “modera-
tion.” This means messages posted by anyone go to the
list without editing for appropriateness. Obviously, the
downside is when you sign up, you get lots of “junk” e-mail.
You even get ads from people “spamming” these groups with
solicitations to join the latest “multi-level marketing”
(MLM) scam. You may even get computer viruses which
“infect” one or more of the list members and inadvertently
get passed on to everyone on the list. On the other hand,
you can also link up with compassionate helpers who will
give you valuable information on their experience with your
type of cancer/chemotherapy/radiation, etc. One such group
is “Meds-online” (MOL) which you can sign up for at:
http://www.meds.com/forums/consumer.html
At that page, you’ll find archives of previous postings to
this forum and a sign-up screen to get future messages.
This group has recently been attacked by several viruses.
You can almost always avoid any damage from a computer virus
if you get in the habit of not opening an attachment to an
e-mail unless you are sure you know who sent it AND what
the attachment is. For example, the viruses were spread
in this group in messages sent out by some idiot “hacker”
under the name of one of the most popular group members.
People opened them because they trusted her. However, the
virus was designed to open her address book (on Outlook
Express, I think) and send the attachment to the e-mail
addresses it found there. The result: Those who opened one
or more of the attachments had several essential files
erased on their hard disk and had to call their computer
gurus to fix the ensuing problem. One solution: virus
screening software which is continuously updated. One
example for $29.95 is at:
Obviously, I believe the benefit of the above list for
cancer patients or caregivers outweighs the risk of
getting a virus. Just be careful. But this same caution
applies to all e-mail messages. If you send someone a
copy of my e-book, for example, as an attachment, call
them first and tell them it is coming.
Back to the subject of person-to-person cancer information
on the ‘Net: The other type is the “real time” chat room.
Here, you will find others with an interest in cancer
therapy. The best of these chat rooms are moderated
continually. So, even if people with your common interest
are not logged on, the moderator will answer your question.
For “instant” guidance about where to go on the ‘Net to find
an answer to your question, these are useful. One such chat
room is at:
http://aoma.com/cs
The “cs” stands for “Cancer Survivors.”
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Duke and The Doctor
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A friend who has read my book suggested I listen to a radio
show called “Duke and The Doctor.” It is broadcast every
weekday from 9-11 AM EST. “So what,” you say, “It’s not on
a station in my neighborhood.” Never fear. With the advent
of the Internet, radio has grown up.
“Duke and The Doctor” is available 24 hours a day at their
web site (see below). You just click on “Listen Now.” A
window will ask you to choose between “Real Player” and
“Windows Multi-media” as the software you want to listen
with. If you don’t have one or the other, you can download
them through a link in the window. Just choose one of them
and — Voila! — today’s two-hour show begins playing on your
computer speakers (assuming you have ’em).
Why is it worth a listen? Well, on the first show I happened
to tune in on a couple of weeks ago, “The Doctor” explained
why she is doing this show. She is an M.D. She says she
got so tired of the side effects her patients were experiencing
with the drugs she prescribed that she decided to devote her
energy to getting out information on “alternative,” non-drug
therapy. Her name is Jan McBarron. Who’s Duke? Well, he’s
her husband, Duke Liberatore. He is an effective foil for her,
asking questions you or I might ask about the subjects they
discuss. It’s a lively and interesting two hours. They take
calls from listeners. Warning: The show is typical of radio
shows (except for National Public Radio, which I love!) — it
contains lots of ads. If you can get around those, you’ll
probably love it.
For example, on the first show I listened to a couple of weeks
ago, Dr. McBarron was discussing flu season. She covered in
detail the research about the effectiveness of the flu shot
and her own experience with it. Her advice: Don’t take it.
As an alternative, she recommended the herb Echinacea. I had
heard of it but had no idea what it was good for. She explained
that it had anti-viral properties which worked especially well
for most types of flu viruses, IF you caught it in the early
stages.
Sure enough, 3 or 4 days later, I had a scratchy throat. My
wife went to the store and bought a bottle of the Echinacea for
about $5. I took 4 of them a day for about 5 days. By the
second day, although my nose had been running and my throat had
been scratchy, I was clearly getting better. By the third day,
all the symptoms were gone. A week later, my wife had the same
experience.
Today, Dr. McBarron was discussing anorexia and bulimia, which
didn’t interest me, so I turned it off after 5 minutes or so.
But if you have the time and patience, the listener call-ins
are all over the medical lot.
At the web site, you can sign up to receive an e-mail reminder
every day (or on selected weekdays) about the show. To give
them a listen, just click here:
http://www.dukeandthedoctor.com/talkshow.cfm
Bill Henderson
As for the legal stuff — Disclaimer: The author of this
newsletter is a researcher and writer, not a doctor. Any
treatment for an illness should be shared with your doctor
before you attempt it.