The findings in the 2013 annual report on cancer indicated that the rate of cancer has declined in the past 30 years (Jawad, Abass, Hariri & Akl, 2015). However, the types of cancer that have shown an increase include melanoma of the skin, leukemia, kidney, uterus and liver cancer. Cancer is a global issue, and many people have died due to the lack of awareness initiatives. Be Clear on Cancer is a social media campaign that focusses on improving early diagnosis of cancer by encouraging people to see their medical practitioners without delay. The Campaign also creates public awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer. The target audience for the cancer prevention initiative are groups of individuals who are risks for the disease. Precisely, the cancer campaign targets men and women from lower socio-economic groups. These group of people over the age of 50 are vulnerable to cancer because they tend to delay seeing their medical practitioners. Moreover, the campaign targets these groups because the risk of cancer rises with age.

The three ways social media platform will be used to reach the target audience includes the use of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Facebook is a social networking site that enables people to interact and learn with others by sharing content. The Facebook page of the Be Clear on Cancer campaign will have discussions on improving early diagnosis of cancer. Studies show that there is low public awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer (Jawad, Abass, Hariri & Akl, 2015). Therefore, health professionals with knowledge on cancer will have the task to moderate the discussion and ensure that the public gets precise information on cancer.

With Twitter, the platform is useful in providing information on health topics people are interested to read (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). The target audience will get real-time information on locations they can have access to treatment, care, and support. The Twitter chat will have schedules indicating voluntary cancer treatment, care, and support. Also, the Twitter page will have information on data of cancer patients.

A blog will be useful in discussing cancer awareness topic. Moreover, with a blog, users can leave comments and engage in discussion, and this will help other readers to understand the content (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). The information in the blog will include strategies to improve cancer outcome such as achieving earlier diagnosis of the disease, improving uptake of screening and making lifestyle changes. Also, the information in the blog will include advice from health professionals on choosing cancer specialists and specifics on diagnosis and treatment.

The benefit of using social media is that the platform can disseminate information on cancer awareness faster than ever before. Cancer patients are everywhere, and they need to get useful information on treatment, care, and support (Koskan, et al., 2014). Therefore, with the availability of various social media platforms, physicians can connect with patients and establish a relationship. Another benefit is that social media offers a cost-effective way to reach patients. The cost involved in spreading information on cancer awareness is minimal. Regarding the cons, social media requires time to create, manage and respond to comments. To ensure a success cancer awareness campaign, it will take commitment and continued efforts (Koskan, et al., 2014). Second, social media may affect the privacy of patients. Sharing information about patients could violate their privacy.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Social Media Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/guidelines/pdf/socialmediatoolkit_bm.pdf

Jawad, M., Abass, J., Hariri, A., & Akl, E. A. (2015). Social media use for public health campaigning in a low resource setting: the case of waterpipe tobacco smoking. BioMed research international, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/562586

Koskan, A., Klasko, L., Davis, S. N., Gwede, C. K., Wells, K. J., Kumar, A., & Meade, C. D. (2014). Use and taxonomy of social media in cancer-related research: a systematic review. American journal of public health, 104(7), e20-e37.

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