UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective: Give a voice to patients, their families and caregivers, raise awareness and visibility of cancer.

Methods: In the summer of 2005, the Swiss Cancer League implemented an internet discussion forum. People who are affected by cancer can provide information and offer support to each other. Technical experts can make their specialist knowledge available. In implementing this programme, Switzerland's multilingual environment posed a particular challenge. Of the total population of 7.5 million, 4.5 million speak German, 1.5 million speak French, and 0.5 million speak Italian. In addition, several other minority language groups exist. To do justice to this multilingual setting, a trilingual forum was set up, in German, French, and Italian. Users access the forum in one language but can also read contributions in the other languages. The advantage of this is that representatives of a minority language group, such as Italian, can access reports even when there are none in their own language. The project was implemented in two stages: in July 2005, the forum made available in German, and on 1 June 2006, the French and Italian versions were made available

Results: This exchange platform has met with great interest: six months into the project (on 1 January 2006), 259 visitors have registered, 988 contributions have been posted, and 10 625 visitors have accessed the forum. Feedback has been positive. Many people whose lives are affected by cancer are glad to have the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge with others and provide mutual support in their fight against cancer.