Cancer Survivor Provides Forum for Patients to Share Personal Journeys

This episode of Drugwatch Podcast features Amy Ohm, the founder, and CEO of TreatmentDiaries.com. Treatment Diaries is an online patient community that allows people to share their personal journeys with illness and to read the accounts of others.

Ohm’s melanoma diagnosis inspired her to establish Treatment Diaries. She didn’t find many places where she could anonymously share and learn from others.

The Treatment Diaries community is a place where patients can “make authentic, quality [and] lifelong connections,” Ohm told Drugwatch.com. In addition, they can learn from the experiences of others who face the same medical issues, in a safe, private environment.

People also visit Treatment Diaries because they are concerned about the side effects of drugs. Some may have developed medical problems resulting from these drugs or complications from medical devices.

Since new drugs are constantly released on the market for chronic diseases such as high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and depression, there are greater chances for suffering side effects – some of which are more serious than the original illness the drug was prescribed for.

Support Without Judgment

After her cancer diagnosis, Ohm immediately turned to the Web for support. She expected to find others like her and get a sense for what she was up against.

Ohm also said she wanted a place to share what she was going through and ask about it in private, without friends, family and co-workers learning of her experience.

“Unfortunately I found the complete opposite,” she said. “I found that 90 percent [of the information] was really clinical in nature…and it wasn’t what someone who was newly diagnosed would need to know.”

Ohm said that she created Treatment Diaries to fill this need, and she plans to expand the number of services offered to members of the site and provide more resources.

Help for People Injured by Drugs and Devices

Like Treatment Diaries, the mission of Drugwatch is to help people who are dealing with medical problems.

The difference is that people who come to Drugwatch developed life-changing illnesses as a result of taking a dangerous drug or receiving a faulty medical device.

With these types of injuries, people often wonder about their legal options and what kind of help they can get to pay the mounting medical bills, compensation for time lost from work and the suffering of loved ones. The legal process can be confusing and stressful, but no one has to face these issues alone.

This is where Drugwatch comes in. Our Patient Advocates are professionals who can help you figure out what your options are. Call our Patient Advocates today at (888) 645-1617.