Getting started

Starting a blog isn’t difficult. Do a simple Web search and you’ll find dozens of free sites that require little more than joining with a password and writing about whatever’s on your mind. You can also start your own Web site and get as fancy with graphics and photos as you want. Some home pages are free (but may have limited space), or you can pay for space on a server and create a blog in any form and size you want. Longtime bloggers recommend doing research to find the option that works best for you.

“If your blog allows comments, set up the site to allow you to see them before they’re published,” Donaldson suggests. “I didn’t do that at first because it’s a lot of work to wade through all the comments, but after getting nasty preprogrammed posts, I do it now.” Unfortunately, spammers frequently send out pornographic e-mails to blogs that include the word breast. She discovered this the hard way.

When you read blogs, either for entertainment or as inspiration for your own diary, keep in mind that not everything you see about breast cancer is accurate. “It is important for us to think about Web-based knowledge as a [valuable] resource, but we should be careful about sorting information and advice,” says Pitts-Taylor.

What’s next

The blogging trend is still in full swing, and Pitts-Taylor predicts health blogs will continue to multiply. She also believes that we’ll soon see new ways for computer users to communicate. Already, some people have posted videos about their health challenges on YouTube.

As for the current crop of breast cancer blogs, some will stay active for years, while others will end and still others may be put on the back burner. Karen George, now busy with her job at a mortgage company, doesn’t post as much as she once did. But she says she’ll never leave the experience behind; in fact, she’s currently working on a book inspired by her blog.

“I receive e-mail from men and women all over the world who are going through this, or who have family members who are,” says George. “I feel very blessed to have this venue where I can touch so many lives and help other people just by telling my story.”