Expert Advice for Learning About Your MPNs Online
Expert Advice for Learning About Your MPNs Online from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
How can myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) patients safely learn about their condition online? Dr. Naveen Pemmaraju offers key tips for finding credible information and how to process MPN information with members of your care team.
Dr. Naveen Pemmaraju is Director of the Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN) Program in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Learn more about Dr. Pemmaraju, here.
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Transcript:
Katherine Banwell:
Dr. Pemmaraju, you’re very active on social media, and patients often share information with one another. So, what advice do you have for patients to ensure online sources are actually credible?
Dr. Pemmaraju:
Wow, great question. First thing I would say is I encourage everyone to get out there. so, that’s key opinion leaders, local physicians, nurses, pharmacists, patients, caregivers, everyone. But Part 2 is what you said is true. Most everything out there is noise. It could be garbage. It could be background. It could be misinformation. So, you do have to have some way to filter it.
I call it signal from the noise. That’s a common phrase that a lot of people on social media use. I guess three things that I would give as tips. One is don’t be afraid to read and get on there, but I would just say whatever you read, take it with a grain of salt, as you said, and just write everything down where you have it organized.
Number two, tend to gravitate towards known experts and known sources. So, for example, you mentioned that I’m on there. That’s great. Ruben Mesa, our great friend and colleague, etcetera, etcetera. So, if you know who the 10 or 15 thought leaders are on Twitter or social media, see what they’re saying directly. That’s nice because it’s straight from them to the public.
And then three is stick with the organizations and entities that are trusted sources. New England Journal of Medicine, ASCO, ASH, programs such as yourself, etcetera, etcetera, who are trying to put out there the latest and honest information.
Okay. So, now the fourth part, though, I think is the most important, which is what we said earlier, which is whatever you look up, discuss it with your doctor and your physician team. Period. Because no matter what research you did, no matter what patients groups you join, there might be something that either doesn’t apply to you, or worse, as you said, it could be actual misinformation, and it’s a red herring.
So, maybe find information, figure out a way to filter it, crosscheck it, and then bring it up to your doctor team. I think that’s a winning way for success with information nowadays.
