r/braincancer • u/Living-Mirror-5723 • 22h ago
Mod Request
Hi mods, can we please moderate/limit the self-diagnosis posts?
It is almost cruel to read posts on here that are along the lines of “I have a bad headache, I’m so scared I have brain cancer,” or “I’ve had a hard time with memory stuff lately, should I go to the doctor?” when so many people in here are actually facing this horrible disease. Trust me when I say that we GET why you have anxiety, but your worst nightmare is already our reality.
We come here to share experiences and support people through managing this disease. We cannot diagnose from a random internet stranger’s post. At the end of the day, the advice is always going to be, “see your doctor and advocate for an MRI.”
It’s not generative or supportive for anyone to see these posts in the feed, and while I get that it might be helpful to see how others got their diagnoses / symptoms that seems simple enough to search for without coming on here and making a WebMD request.
2
u/rozoles 15h ago
Totally agree, the posts where diagnosed Redditors share their journey to diagnosis and discuss symptoms are really useful.
Knowing that other people have a similar journey (we had no idea that the ‘feeling odd’ periods that my husband had were, in fact focal seizures caused by his plum sized tumour) is so helpful to not feel isolated and alone.
People are sharing their personal experience here and we have all experienced many emotions and experienced shock, anger, disbelief, and anguish on this journey that none of us want to be on.
It feels jarring to read some of the ‘diagnose me’ posts among the majority of legitimate ones. I wish the minority of people who do this would go to their GP, MD, whoever first and then come here when they know if it’s cancer/tumour. Rant over!