Understanding Topics and Sentiment in an Online Cancer Survivor Community

Online cancer communities help members support one another, provide new perspectives about living with cancer, normal-ize experiences, and reduce isolation. The American Cancer Society’s 166 000-member Cancer Survivors Network (CSN) is the largest online peer support community for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Sentiment analysis and topic modeling were applied to CSN breast and colorectal cancer discussion posts from 2005 to 2010 to examine how sentiment change of thread initiators, a measure of social support, varies by discussion topic. The support provided in CSN is highest for medical, lifestyle, and treatment issues. Threads related to 1) treatments and side effects, surgery, mastectomy and reconstruction, and decision making for breast cancer, 2) lung scans, and 3) treatment drugs in colon cancer initiate with high negative sentiment and produce high average sentiment change. Using text mining tools to assess sentiment, sentiment change, and thread topics provides new insights that community managers can use to facilitate member interactions and enhance support outcomes. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2013;47:195–198 Online cancer communities provide an outlet for people with cancer and caregivers to discuss cancer-related issues. Studies of online cancer support groups and communities have shown that members benefit from online interactions in multiple ways