ASCO: You’re listening to a podcast from Cancer.Net. This cancer information website is produced by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, known as ASCO, the world’s leading professional organization for doctors who care for people with cancer. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. Cancer research discussed in this podcast is ongoing, so the data described here may change as research progresses. Monika Sharda: Hello. I'm Monika Sharda, an editor on the Cancer.Net team and your host for today's podcast. In this episode, I will be talking with two guests about how cancer patients use social media. Our first guest, Dr. Merry Jennifer Markham is a hematologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Welcome, Dr. Markham. Dr. Markham: Hi. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Monika Sharda: We also have with us Dr. Danielle Gentile, who is a researcher at Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hi Dr. Gentile. Dr. Gentile: Hi Monika. Thank you for having us this morning. Monika Sharda: My pleasure. Drs. Markham and Gentile recently published a study in the Journal of Oncology Practice that describes potential benefits and drawbacks of people with cancer using social media. Today, I'm going to discuss with them some of the findings from their study, as well as what people with cancer should know about using social media and how it can provide support. First off, I want to know what sparked your interest in studying social media and its use for people with cancer. Dr. Markham, let's start with you. Dr. Markham: Sure. So I have had an interest in social media for several years. And some of that stems from my own personal and professional use of social media, primarily platforms like Twitter. And one thing that I've noticed is that I've connected on Twitter with a lot of patient advocates and colleagues and sometimes people who identify themselves as patients, as well. And there's a lot of searching for information that happens, I think, on social media. So that has really stemmed my interest in exploring it further as a potential tool for patients, as well as researchers and oncologists and other health professionals, to take advantage of what's out there. Monika Sharda: And what about you, Dr. Gentile? Dr. Gentile: I'll echo many of the things that Dr. Markham shared. And there's ways to find so much information through social media, things that a person may not even be directly seeking. They can come across things indirectly and learn that way. So it's quite interesting to see how people are able to make connections across the country and across the world with people who are in similar situations that they are. And social media is a way to gain some social support in ways that may not be possible in person. So if a person is not feeling well from their cancer diagnosis or treatments, they can reach out online. And through Twitter or Facebook, they're able to meet others who can share in the experience with them. Monika Sharda: So what I took away from your study is that social media can sort of be a double-edged sword. There's potential benefits for patients, but then there are also potential drawbacks. So let's start by talking about some of the pros. How can social media be helpful to patients? Dr. Gentile: So there's a few ways that patients can use social media to their benefit. And one is that it's great for engagement and empowerment. So it provides a platform for patients to talk about their diagnoses, to search for information, digest what is happening in the world of cancer research as well. And through all of that information and connection with other