When was the last time you were in a hotel and saw only one WiFi signal? I don’t know that I have ever NOT seen a selection of WiFi signals when I turn on my smart phone. Even my hotspot is having trouble getting me connected. As I struggled to change a flight using this spotty WiFi signal, I started to think about how hard it is to reach women and men who don’t have the kind of information access that I enjoy every day.
This got me thinking about the discussion I had with our sponsor AstraZeneca. They are concerned about the number of women who are unaware of their ER/PR/HER2 status, and the potential treatment implications of that status.
While some of us received a copy of the pathology report the day we got the diagnosis, there are many, many women and men who never receive this information. If their oncologist doesn’t explain this, how will they ever know? It’s hard to be a good advocate for your care if you have no information. And how do you get the information you need if you have to drive to the library every time you want to get online?
What’s worse, there are some physicians out there who may not fully understand the implication of the pathology. Imagine a small community where an oncologist, or even an internist, is treating all types of cancers. With all the struggles these physicians face keeping a rural practice afloat, it is not hard to imagine that they missed the recent announcement about palbociclib. I have the luxury of being treated by a nationally known oncologist who is an expert in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer – my subtype. It is very sad to me that not everyone enjoys this level of expertise.
So, how do we reach these women who aren’t on Inspire, who don’t use Facebook groups, who don’t see the latest oncology news in their daily feed? I have no idea, but I will be thinking about it.
I never was able to change my flight – that will have to wait until I get to Cleveland.
Posted from the Budget Inn in Stroudsburg, PA.
