It looks like Facebook but helps fight cancer

On first view, the site looks a lot like a Facebook page. Members have profiles with a profile picture and description. They can post status updates, comment on other users’ statuses and “like” posts. However, the similarities stop there.

Every image and message on the site is a reminder that users are battling a common enemy: breast cancer.

Started in 2012, My Breast Cancer Team (MyBCTeam) is a social network of more than 5,000 women who either have breast cancer or are in remission.

MyBCTeam wasn’t created by a woman facing cancer but by two web professionals in San Francisco.

Mary Ray and Eric Peacock are the co-founders of MyHealthTeams, a company that builds social networks for people with chronic medical conditions.

MyAutismTeam was the first of the company’s sites. It was followed by MyBCTeam and MyMSTeam, a social network for those living with multiple sclerosis.

In a phone interview, Ray explained that MyBCTeam’s main strength is being a place where women can talk to other women like them.

That’s something that people still can’t find in traditional self-help groups.

“A 30-year-old woman may be worried about how chemotherapy will affect her fertility. Her concerns are different than those of a 65-year-old woman,” she said.

With just a few clicks, users can find other members like them based on type of cancer, age, treatments received, side effects experienced, etc.

The website is also practical. “If you’re undergoing your seventh chemotherapy treatment, you might not have the energy to go see people face to face,” said Ray.

The site is strictly reserved for women facing breast cancer, which means that users can freely talk about more taboo subjects, like reduced libido or adapting to breast implants.

Another MyBCTeam innovation is an option that allows members to send each other virtual hugs. The site’s creators wanted to introduce this feature because when a person gets bad news, sometimes the best thing you can do is hug them.

'IT WAS A NIGHTMARE'

Claudette Reny, 68, is from Gatineau, which makes her one of the few women on MyBCTeam from Quebec. In August 2013, she found out she had a tumour in her right breast. The shock was brutal. “It was a nightmare,” she said.

While researching online, Reny found MyBCTeam. The site was a lifesaver. “One day, things were really bad. I was very depressed. I got so many hugs that day.”

Since then, she’s logged onto the social network every day, where she posts questions to other users and sends out hugs of her own.

“I talk to women from Texas and California. We don’t know each other, but we do. I can’t explain it.”

At the Fondation québécoise du cancer, the website is making waves, and overall the reaction is positive. “Seeing that other women want to live is a source of hope for those who have just been diagnosed,” said Nicole Morin, a Fondation nurse consultant.

Morin did warn site users to be careful. “A person is not a diagnosis,” she said. “Breast cancer is very complex, and no two cases are alike.”

This means that although members may have the same condition, they may not react the same way to treatments.

Also, the posts should not be considered medically reliable. Members who share information have good intentions, but personal experience is not enough to recommend an operation or a medication.

“We have to manage our expectations,” said Morin, “especially in a case like this, because people who are dealing with difficult situations are more vulnerable.”

My Breast Cancer Team can be found at www.mybcteam.com