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Social Media
Beyond its potential for fundraising, social media provides powerful tools for educating a large
[9]
population about the disease . It also reduces isolation by creating engagement. Most MBC Notable Discussion
Alliance members use social media, although few provide MBC-specific communications Boards
(see Figure 12). Unlike traditional online communities, social media support for cancer
patients allows members to be seen by their own personal social network and by the public [10] . Breastcancer.org*
This aids in increasing the visibility of MBC among the public. Six in 10 cell-phone owners access
the Internet on their cell phones, with blacks and Hispanics more likely to do so than whites [98] . BCMets.org
However, MBC Alliance members provide few mobile websites or smartphone apps. These, Inspire
along with forums, chat rooms, and social media tools catering to the smartphone portion of
the MBC population, would provide another avenue of support to patients. TNBC Foundation
* just for Stage IV
Figure 12: Social Media Focus of Advocate Members caregivers/family
20
18
MBC specific
number of member organizations
16
14
12
10
general
8
6
4
none
2
85
