The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network®

The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network (CSN) (https://csn.cancer.org) is an online peer support community created by and for people with cancer and cancer caregivers. Launched in 2000, it is the oldest and largest peer support community of its kind with over 7 million visitors annually.  CSN is a 24/7 welcoming community where members support and inspire one another, share their personal experiences, and offer practical tips throughout their entire cancer journey or at any stage.  Through the CSN community, people personally impacted by cancer will find help and hope from others who understand through their own experience and practical wisdom.

Specialists at the Society’s National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) closely monitor content on CSN to handle site violations in a timely manner so members feel as safe and secure as possible.  For example, giving medical advice, bashing healthcare providers, and promotion of specific treatments, products, or services are site violations which are strictly enforced on CSN.

The initial expectation for CSN was that it would increase opportunity for interpersonal learning among cancer survivors and caregivers and that informational exchange would evolve into emotional support, ultimately resulting in a cohesive member community.  It was further hoped that by this means, the site would facilitate concepts such as hope, universality, catharsis, existentialism, altruism, interpersonal learning, and group cohesiveness, reducing the sense of isolation people facing cancer often feel, by increasing members’ sense of belonging and community.

Currently, CSN facilitates informational and emotional social support by offering a free online space for members to exchange information, engage in self-expression and storytelling, give and receive emotional support, and discuss issues commonly experienced by cancer survivors.  Despite being one of the largest online cancer support communities, no evaluations of this community have been published, until now.   My ACS colleagues recently published Description, characterization, and evaluation of an online social networking community: the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivor Network® in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.   The purpose of this paper is to (a) describe CSN’s conceptualization, purpose, and features; (b) describe the two-phase evaluation process; and (c) characterize the online social network through digitally obtained and self-reported data documenting the online behaviors and characteristics of CSN visitors and community members.

Submitted by Kevin Babb, Vice President National Cancer Information Center; American Cancer Society