Digital nurse appointed to fight the 'fake news' people get when they Google their cancer diagnosis

View photos

Facebook and Google are not the only ones who are taking serious measures against the proliferation of “fake news”. 

SEE ALSO: Experts don’t know if the fake news problem will get more or less awful

The UK’s leading cancer charity, Macmillan, has appointed a digital nurse who will answer questions from patients on social media and help dispel myths around cancer, it said in a press release.

The charity said there’s a growing percentage of patients who Google their diagnosis without adequate support and could end up “needlessly frightened” and at risk of “bogus cures”.

vCard QR Code

vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.

The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.

Research conducted by YouGov found out that 42% of people with cancer looked up information about their diagnosis online, and of those 1 in 8 said they didn’t fully understand their diagnosis. 

Ellen McPake, the nurse appointed for the digital role, will flank the charity’s social media team and online community to work as one team. 

“She can provide sound and trusted clinical expertise on our digital platforms for example responding reactively to posts on Facebook that require a nurses’ clinical insight,” a spokesperson for Macmillan told Mashable.

She will also help run a series of monthly Q&A sessions on Macmillan’s Online Community on a specific theme. November is dedicated to head and neck cancer while December’s theme will be the emotional issues around cancer.

“Once the doctor says ‘cancer’, people automatically then shut down and they don’t take in the information that they’re given,” McPake told the BBC

“So they go home, speak to the family. And then they’ll sit online that night and get themselves in a frenzy with what they’re reading.”

Among the myths the nurse will help debunk is a website claiming chemotherapy is a bigger killer than cancer. Another site wrongly reports that baking soda can cure breast cancer.

Here are the two most popular myths that McPake and Macmillan are hoping to debunk:

Cancer is a death sentence

Breast implants can increase your risk of cancer

Https%3a%2f%2fvdist.aws.mashable.com%2fcms%2f2017%2f10%2f7f1c40e0 19f4 440d%2fthumb%2f00001Https%3a%2f%2fvdist.aws.mashable.com%2fcms%2f2017%2f10%2f7f1c40e0 19f4 440d%2fthumb%2f00001

View photos

Https%3a%2f%2fvdist.aws.mashable.com%2fcms%2f2017%2f10%2f7f1c40e0 19f4 440d%2fthumb%2f00001

🕐 Top News in the Last Hour By Importance Score

# Title 📊 i-Score
1 What Nearly Brainless Rodents Know About Weight Loss and Hunger 🔴 75 / 100
2 Meet the judge and the lawyers at the center of Diddy's case 🔴 65 / 100
3 Trump 'ignored' in awkward moment as Starmer and Macron rally around Zelensky 🔴 65 / 100
4 Pharma boss says German plant closures 'a disaster waiting to happen' 🔵 45 / 100
5 Robot walks around Madrid Open court as Novak Djokovic waits on in bizarre scenes 🔵 45 / 100
6 LG confirms game-changing upgrade for these TVs – is your model on the list? 🔵 35 / 100
7 Gnocchi will have 'extra flavour' if you add one cooking step — its so cheap to make 🔵 30 / 100
8 Harry and Meghan's Portugal getaway offers one thing they can't get in US 🔵 30 / 100
9 My favourite Elder Scrolls YouTuber returned after 2 years, and it's made me fall in love with ridiculous challenge runs all over again 🔵 30 / 100
10 Chelsea 1-0 Everton: Nicolas Jackson nets first goal since December to boost Blues' Champions League bid 🔵 20 / 100

View More Top News ➡️