The Follicular Lymphoma Foundation is conducting its annual global patient survey, and I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to respond.
The survey is anonymous, and takes about 5-10 minutes to complete.
The FLF conducts a survey every year to get input from FL patients from around the world about their experiences. They share the results on their website for patients to look at, but they also share the results with oncologists and other medical professions at medical conferences. A few months ago, they shared results from one of their surveys at ASCO, one of the largest gatherings of oncologists in the world. By telling oncologists about how patients and caregivers prioritize treatment decisions, they were able to show that doctors and patients think differently. It's a great way to have the voice of patients heard, and potentially change the way oncologists do their jobs.
This survey asks questions about experiences with treatment, and about the kinds of emotional issues that FL patients have to deal with. It's very valuable information -- the kinds of information that don't usually show up on surveys.
(Which reminds me -- the latest edition of The FL Community Podcast is out now, and it's on "Mental Health and FL: Coping with the Psychological Impact of Cancer." I haven't had chance to watch/listen yet, but I'm guessing Dr. Paul, one of the hosts, will have lots of good things to say, since he's a mental health professional, and Nicky and Nicola have had plenty of experiences to share as well.)
You can click here to find out a little more about the survey and click on the link to begin.
A couple of things to help you get oriented (I already took the survey, so I know these things):
You can take it in English or Spanish.
Some questions ask you to choose one item, and when you choose it, it will automatically move to the next question.
If you need to go back and change an answer, there are two small arrow in the lower right corner that will let you do that. Don't feel like you can't go back and forth just because the survey moved forward on its own.
I hope you will take a few minutes and complete the survey before it closes on October 19. A large response will benefit all of us.
