Beating-myeloma.org is an interactive website dedicated to empowering those faced with multiple myeloma to manage their health and live longer, better lives. The website provides learning opportunities for those affected by multiple myeloma, as well as forums, newsletters, and a search engine for sharing advice, information, and a full spectrum of approaches to confronting disease.

The website is a compilation of information from professional internet sources, myeloma survivors, and the experiences of David Emerson, the site's founder. The Beating-myeloma.org website is not intended to replace your doctor or any other information sources, but rather supplement them.

When David was researching myeloma on the internet, he came across discussions of a topic called "Interactive Health Communication." In 1999 the US department of Health and Human Services convened an independent panel to study the subject. They define interactive health communication (IHC) as "the use of information or communication technology to access or provide health information, guidance, and support." Examples of interactive health communication applications (IHCAs) include health related web sites and health CD-ROMs.

The panel concluded that interactive health communication had great potential but cautioned consumers to carefully evaluate the health information they find on the internet by making sure that the purpose and source of the information is plainly stated. For this reason we try to be as transparent as possible at beating-myeloma.org, and make every effort to explain our mission, values and beliefs, and define where we get our information (read more about our mission, beliefs, and history on the Galen Foundation page).

David also found several more recent studies that evaluated interactive health communication. In particular, a review of literature done by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2005 influenced his thinking. The study found that interactive health communication improved user's

• knowledge
• social support
• health behaviors
• clinical outcomes

The study also found that it was likely that interactive health communication applications improve user's self-efficacy (a person's belief in their capacity to carry out a specific action).

Beating-myeloma.org (and its parent organization, the Galen Foundation) is funded almost entirely from individual donations. Unlike many other health related websites we accept no funding from pharmaceutical corporations because we believe this would be a conflict of interest. We strive to provide impartial information on the full spectrum of approaches to confronting disease.

We are working to launch a google sponsored links campaign that will provide a small income, and this year marks our second annual fundraising event, the Talk the Talk, Walk the Walkathon. Learn more about our fundraising or make a donation on our donations page.