Many people have found social media to be a helpful tool in finding community as well as having a centralized way to keep friends and family updated on their health. However, websites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly twitter) were not designed for keeping personal information private. While they all have settings that allow you to adjust your privacy preferences, they aren't full-proof and they change frequently. So it is important to consider what you share and where.

For some people, being public about their cancer diagnosis and treatment is important to them and so mainstream social media channels are a way to share their story and advocate for others.

For others, maintaining their privacy in public is important. If you wish to stay off of social media with your cancer experience but would still like the convenience and community an online network can provide CaringBridge.org and MyLifeLine.org are two options designed specifically for patients going through cancer treatment.

However, it is still important to know that the information you post to these sites is not automatically 100% protected. It’s essential to take additional steps to ensure that your profile is as secure as you would like it to be. For more on how to do that, download our Maintaining Online Privacy one-sheet.

Updated 2023