To Friend or Not to Friend: The Use of Social Media in Clinical Oncology

Online social networking has replaced more traditional meth-ods of personal and professional communication in many segments of society today. The wide reach and immediacy of social media facilitate dissemination of knowledge in advo-cacy and cancer education, but the usefulness of social me-dia in personal relationships between patients and providers is still unclear. Although professional guidelines regarding e-mail communication may be relevant to social media, the inherent openness in social networks creates potential boundary and privacy issues in the provider-patient context. This commentary seeks to increase provider awareness of unique issues and challenges raised by the integration of social networking into oncology communications. Case Stud