When we started our MDS Community Facebook group, our popular Chat Forum shrank, as everyone migrated to Facebook but many of you are coming off Facebook, or are not keen to use it anyway.

The Chat Forum has been newly upgraded and reorganised to make it easier to navigate.  It offers a direct link to other patients and relatives, it is protected by a coded username and a password, and arranged via themed folders. You can find information too, such as Travel Insurance recommendations and tips, messages from our Local MDS Groups, messages about transfusion needs, stem cell transplants and much more.

Evidence has shown that peer to peer support is important to people coping with cancer.  In the words of Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO

Peer support through web-based platforms, lets a person vent their frustration, learn about new treatments or research protocols, and exchange information. Knowing that others have had similar experiences and that they can help, may make all the difference in how someone lives through the challenge of cancer....Hearing that you are not alone can inspire you or give you a little more confidence to overcome a difficult symptom or side effect. Peer support may help explain treatment options or provide a deeper understanding of your diagnosis. It may point to new research that may be relevant to your situation.

So give it a try!