Tag: patient groups

Previving with a Sisterhood

Previving with a Sisterhood

Andrea Downing is living with a BRCA1 mutation, which puts her at a high risk for cancer, the same disease that she saw her mother and grandmother endure. Although at first her diagnosis created a pervading feeling of loneliness, Andrea has found a group on Facebook, the BRCA Sisterhood support group, to share information and break through the isolation. But as much as Andrea praises her own and other patient community groups, she worries that social media hosts, such as Facebook, pose a threat to the safety of these groups and their health data. In this episode, Andrea talks about what it means to be a previvor, how her Sisterhood empowered her, and where she is now in the fight to secure patient community groups.