Video Conference: Let's Do This

Well, I've heard from a few people who might be interested in some kind of video conference/get-together. I think there's enough enthusiasm that we should give this a shot.

As I said in my last post, I attended the online version of the HealtheVoices conference last Saturday. It's a gathering of online health advocates, and of course, one of the themes of the day was the importance of community. That's an important theme for me and other advocates, even when we are able to meet face-to-face.

But the last couple of months have highlighted how important it is to connect with one another, not just as advocates, or even patients, but just on a basic level as people.

So maybe having some online time together would be a good idea.

I remember another HealtheVoices experience I had a couple of years ago. I was asked to be a part of a group of cancer advocates who were brought together to give advice about a cancer-oriented website. The advice we gave was fine, but what I remember more was the first 20 minutes or so. We all went and and introduced ourselves. There were probably 10 of us, and we all had different types of cancer -- breast, colon, prostate, testicular, lung. And lymphoma, of course.

But despite all of our differences, I can't tell you how it felt to hear everyone's stories. It was really the first time I'd been in a room with that many other cancer patients and survivors. And as awful as some of those stories were (like one person who was misdiagnosed for about 4 years), I felt an amazing connection to all of those people. We'd all been through the same thing -- hearing a doctor tell us we had cancer.

I don't know if an online video conference could ever capture that same feeling, that same sense of connection. But I'd be willing to give it a try.

So if you are interested in trying to organize some way of getting together, maybe just for an hour, through something like Zoom, then send me an email: bobtalisker@gmail.com.

We can work out details like day and time, platform, and what we might want to talk about. I don't have an agenda. Even just some introductions might be nice.

And if you think you might be interested, but have concerns about timing, or privacy, or technology, email me anyway. We'll see what we can work out.

I look forward to hearing from you.