Blogging for a worthy cause

It is no secret- cancer affects millions of people each year. Chances are you know someone- a family member, family friend, or professor whose lives have been changed forever by the deadly disease, however there is hope. In fact according to the American Cancer Society website http://www.acs.org/, cancer deaths are down for a second year. The site reports that breast cancer cases in the US have leveled off in recent years and that death rates from prostate cancer are also declining. With survivorship numbers increasing, it is important that the brave men, women and children who battled the disease have a place to go for life after cancer.

The creators of CURE Magazine, a quarterly magazine dedicated to dealing with cancer on a daily basis are launching Heal, a magazine focused on solely on cancer survivorship complete with in-depth coverage of survivors and their life changing stories and personal testimonials. With its upcoming premiere, Heal is looking to establish an online community to help bring survivors together. And these days the obvious way to set up a social network online is simple- create a blog.

The Heal blog should be a place where survivors from all over can come and tell their story. However, instead of being just like all of the cancer-related websites and blogs Heal has the opportunity to be something different. The concept of survivorship is often overlooked and Heal is the perfect location for a place that survivors and family members alike can talk about cancer in a new way.

When researching cancer related websites and blogs I came across an interesting article on the Health News websitehttp://www.everydayhealth.com/publicsite/ShowArticle.aspx?IsP=news/602/news602096.xml&dp=2007/02/22&q1=&cen
\ that talks about a new kind of healing for cancer patients. Harvard researcher Susan Bauer-Wu suggests that by spending 30 minutes at least four days a week writing out their innermost thoughts and feelings, patients can significantly boost mental and physical health. Expressive writing or journal therapy is way for patients to express what they are feeling at the time and perhaps Heal could be the perfect place for them to do that. The blog should be a forum for discussion about inspiring stories of survivorship and hope. Readers of the blog should feel free to post their thoughts and ideas about life after cancer.

There are already so many sites dedicated to the medical aspects of cancer, why not have a blog without any MDs or treatment programs linked to the site. How about links to exotic travel destinations, new recipes, ideas about family fun. It almost seems like surviving cancer it like getting a second chance at life so the site should aim its focus on how to live life to the fullest and how precious it really is.

Seeing how Heal is a new publication and may not have the resources or time to continually update the blog on a weekly basis perhaps the magazine could work with members of the cancer community to host or sponsor the blog month by month. There are countless organizations dedicated cancer related topics and while not every organization has the time to create a blog, so many people have so many different stories to share. For instance, Heal could work with some of the organizations that CURE Magazine already has established relationships with and work together to host the Heal blog for the month.


Side Bar Possibilities:

http://www.glamour.com/lifestyle/blogs/editor/

Glamour Editor living with Cancer

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp

American Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.gov/

National cancer institute

http://www.canceradvocacy.org/

NCCS: National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship