Identifying the Communication Intent in Cancer Subreddit
Written by Yash Karkhanis and Aadil Zikre
Understanding cancer’s impact on individuals and society is vital due to its widespread prevalence and profound implications. While extensive research focuses on diagnosis and treatment, exploring coping mechanisms is equally critical. Cancer not only affects physical health but also profoundly impacts mental and emotional well-being. Studying coping strategies provides insights into resilience and aids in developing tailored interventions to enhance patients’ overall well-being.
Online cancer communities, like r/cancer, play a crucial role. They serve as supportive platforms where individuals affected by cancer connect, share experiences, and access valuable information. These communities alleviate the isolation often felt after a diagnosis and offer a space to discuss treatments, coping strategies, and emotional support. Moreover, they serve as hubs for reliable information on the latest research and treatments, empowering individuals to stay informed.
The significance of these online communities lies in their ability to transcend geographical boundaries, creating a global network of support and knowledge exchange. They foster a sense of solidarity, providing comfort, encouragement, and a wealth of information to those navigating the complexities of cancer. The support found in these communities is multifaceted, ranging from emotional reassurance to practical advice on managing the challenges associated with the disease.
The reasons individuals turn to these online communities vary but often revolve around seeking understanding, guidance, and a sense of belonging. The community’s support is offered through shared experiences, information exchange, emotional encouragement, and a sense of unity in facing a life-altering diagnosis. Overall, platforms like r/cancer significantly contribute to the well-being and empowerment of individuals affected by cancer. With this article, we aim to better understand why people turn to online communities when dealing with Cancer. Additionally, we also dived deep into how the community responds.
Dataset and Methodology
We used data from r/cancer subreddit. The data contained texts from posts as well as the comments. We performed unsupervised machine learning techniques to analyze the content of the posts and comments to understand the intent behind them.
We started with BERTopic. It is a topic modeling approach that utilizes transformers and c-TF-IDF to generate dense clusters, facilitating the creation of easily interpretable topics. Upon reviewing the generated topics, we successfully identified three relevant themes:
1. Use of marijuana in conjunction with cancer
2. Anxiety and stress management when dealing with cancer
3. Survivor stories
Based on our analysis thus far and the literature review, we decided to look for five main themes and since the themes were very clearly defined at this point, we employed BERTopic with zero-shot classification to find the relevant clusters.
The five candidate labels we selected were:
1. Managing pain
2. Treatment
3. Support
4. Rant
5. Marijuana
The model generated more than 200 clusters but for our analysis, we focused on 36 clusters that were relevant to the themes we outlined above.
Observations
Topic 1: Managing Pain
We identified three subthemes for this Topic.
The first theme consisted of posts centered around aiding family, friends, or loved ones in coping with pain and discussing ways to support and ease their struggles.
The second theme featured posts inquiring about personal pain management strategies. This category included questions from individuals facing cancer seeking advice on how to alleviate their own pain.
The third theme comprised of individuals seeking assistance as they embarked on their treatment journey for the first time, specifically undergoing procedures like lobectomy or thoracotomy.
Overall analysis of comments suggested that the community appears to be a supportive and informed space, offering a range of assistance from emotional comfort to practical advice, and even delving into the realm of healthcare resource accessibility. The diversity in responses indicates a dynamic and caring community, united by a shared goal of providing aid and solace during challenging times.
Topic 2: Rant
We identified four subthemes for this Topic.
The first theme contained people swearing at cancer in an attempt to vent their frustration, anger, and resentment. The posts in this theme revolve around expressing strong emotions toward cancer using explicit language. The authors did not necessarily seek any response from the community.
The second theme contained hate towards cancer advertisements. The focus was the dislike or resentment people had towards cancer-related advertisements or articles, as well as how cancer is portrayed in the media. The comments in these posts were split in two ways. Some people sympathized with the sentiment in the posts but others offered an opposite perspective. They believe these programs spread awareness and raise funds for research, thus providing support to those affected by cancer.
The third theme had users ranting about waiting for life-changing cancer reports. The overarching theme was the emotional toll of waiting for life-changing diagnostic reports. Here the comments empathetically suggested staying occupied until the results were revealed and advised against dwelling on the potential worst-case scenarios.
The fourth theme contained users venting about a cancer diagnosis or their victory against it. Unlike blaming or ranting, these posts are more about expressing personal triumphs or challenges without directing anger toward anyone or any circumstance.
Topic 3: Support
We identified three subthemes for this Topic.
The first theme was how people could support their friends and family diagnosed with Cancer. Questions were centered around what can people do to help and support their loved ones going through Cancer. To help with these questions, comments from fellow community members involved their personal anecdotes.
The second theme was mainly people inquiring about what kind of support groups and forums are out there for cancer patients. We saw people sharing cancer-related resources in the comments.
The third theme was about how lonely Cancer can make people feel. It had posts from people going through cancer who felt they were alone. The commentators were seen offering motivation to people and asking the patients to never lose hope.
Overall, in this theme too, we found the community to be helpful and providing support in whatever way they could.
Topic 4: Treatment Advice
We identified four subthemes for this Topic.
The first theme predominantly revolves around inquiries related to food. Individuals facing chemotherapy often contend with extensive dietary restrictions and a diminished appetite. Consequently, numerous questions emerged seeking recommendations for suitable food items and recipes.
The second theme comprised of individuals deciding whether to undergo chemotherapy and questioning its overall value.
The third theme was centered on inquiries concerning blood work, including questions about blood test metrics and their implications.
The fourth theme was dedicated to inquiries regarding the treatment of melanoma.
We also examined the comments to discern the nature of advice offered by the community. We found three prevalent themes. The first theme predominantly featured advice on food choices and accompanying recipes. The second theme contained advice from individuals regarding blood test results, aiding others in comprehending the implications of the test results. Within the third theme, users typically shared their personal experiences in coping with cancer, offering motivation to those undergoing a similar journey.
Topic 5: Posts about marijuana use during Cancer
We identified two subthemes for this Topic:
1. Individuals seeking advice regarding the use of marijuana for treating cancer-related side effects for themselves.
2. Individuals seeking advice regarding the use of marijuana for treating cancer-related side effects for a friend or family member.
Both clusters shared a common theme, primarily consisting of posts from first-time marijuana users seeking information on using marijuana to alleviate cancer-related side effects. Questions within these clusters revolved around the compatibility of marijuana with ongoing treatments and sought general experiences from individuals who had used marijuana for similar purposes. The predominant side effects discussed were nausea and loss of appetite, as well as pain and sleeplessness resulting from chemotherapy. There were a few questions about the legality of medical marijuana in respective states.
In general, the posts exhibited curiosity, frequently seeking information and advice on marijuana. As most of these posts consisted of questions, we turned to the comments to gauge the general opinion of the community members.
We identified three main themes for comments. In the first theme, commentators conveyed their positive experiences, detailing how marijuana assisted them in coping with the side effects of chemotherapy.
The second theme contained suggestions about methods of marijuana consumption. The individuals were advised to refrain from smoking marijuana and opt for edibles, particularly those dealing with throat and lung cancer.
In the third theme, we observed a prevailing negative sentiment regarding marijuana. However, it’s important to note that this negativity was specifically directed towards the notion of marijuana as a treatment for cancer itself, as opposed to its potential efficacy in alleviating the side effects associated with cancer treatment. In other words, the criticism was centered around the broader concept of using marijuana as a direct remedy for the disease, rather than for managing the adverse effects of cancer therapies.
Our Overall Conclusion
Our analysis reveals several key observations regarding Reddit’s role as a platform for discussing cancer-related challenges. Reddit has become a valuable space where individuals openly share their daily struggles in coping with cancer, mirroring the diversity of perspectives found in other subreddits and fostering centralized discussions on various topics. Notably, Reddit stands out as a unique source of advice due to contributors drawing from personal experiences, offering insights often absent in traditional medical consultations. The discovery of a community where others comprehend and empathize with these struggles provides much-needed support. Additionally, Reddit users show a genuine willingness to provide meaningful assistance, displaying a sincere commitment to aiding those facing serious challenges. The prevalent positivity within cancer-related discussions on Reddit contributes to creating an uplifting and supportive environment for individuals navigating their health journeys.
References
Jenei, Kristina, et al. “Experiences and perspectives of individuals accessing CAR-T cell therapy: A qualitative analysis of online Reddit discussions.” Journal of Cancer Policy 30 (2021): 100303.
Andy, Anietie, and Uduak Andy. “Understanding communication in an online cancer forum: content analysis study.” JMIR cancer 7.3 (2021): e29555.
