By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    November 15, 2022
    back pain issues
    Ways to Treat Constant Back Pain
    August 21, 2023
    Latest News
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    More On Wellness Programs To Improve Health and Reduce Costs
    January 25, 2012
    Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
    June 12, 2011
    Study: Risk of Death in Elderly Patients with Dementia Doubled with Some Antipsychotic Medications
    February 26, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Interview with Liza Bernstein: ePatient, Breast Cancer Survivor, and Social Media Person
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Interview with Liza Bernstein: ePatient, Breast Cancer Survivor, and Social Media Person
Social Media

Interview with Liza Bernstein: ePatient, Breast Cancer Survivor, and Social Media Person

DeniseSilber
DeniseSilber
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE
 

Interview with Liza Bernstein, ePatient speaker, Doctors 2.0 & YouI first met Liza Bernstein in Palo Alto at Stanford Medi

 

Interview with Liza Bernstein, ePatient speaker, Doctors 2.0 & YouI first met Liza Bernstein in Palo Alto at Stanford Medicine X conference run by our partner, Dr Larry Chu. Liza was an “ePatient Scholar”, and she and I discussed what she could bring to Doctors 2.0 & You, as an ePatient with an international background. Liza was born in South Africa, speaks four languages and is very active globally in breast cancer social media. We followed up on Social Media and here we are, preparing for her talk at the Doctors 2.0 & You conference in June. 2013. We love this quote and hope you’ll enjoy the interview below.

“These conversations and relationships on Social Media also helped me find my voice and realize that I could have an impact and be of service.“

Denise Silber: Tell us, Liza, the interesting story of how you became involved with Social Media.

More Read

How To: Take Advantage of Social Media at #RSNA12
Virtual Meet-Ups for Cancer Patients
Strategy and Practice Intertwine in a New Social Media Book by the Mayo Clinic
Why Digital Marketing Is Your Best Bet for Recruiting Patients with Rare Conditions for Clinical Trials
Removing the Digital Content Barriers

Liza Bernstein: I got involved in Social Media with an experiment. It was October 2010, I was recovering from 15 months of treatment for my 3rd breast cancer, and in between surgeries.  Since 1994, the year of my 1st diagnosis, I had always felt isolated, under attack, voice-less, misunderstood, exploited and more during October, aka Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). In October 2010, though, for the first time, I was feeling less negative/more able to handle it, but realized that other survivors also suffered during this month that was supposed to be about “helping” us. I decided to go on Tumblr and Twitter and challenge myself to step out of my isolation and post some thoughts/observations about Breast Cancer and BCAM. I did it anonymously because I was too shy and afraid to be fully “out,” but with integrity and authenticity.

Here’s a link to my posts on Tumblr from October 2010: http://itsthebunk.tumblr.com/archive/2010/10 Part of the experiment was to see if I could find anyone out there with anything interesting to say. I researched keywords, found hashtags and in December, found that the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium — a leading annual meeting of researchers and doctors in Breast Cancer — had a hashtag and that people were tweeting from and about the conference. I spent hours on the hashtag and had my first real conversation on Twitter. That anecdote is expanded on here: http://itsthebunk.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-epatient-bio-from-stanford-medicine-x.html That conversation led to others, it also led to other conferences (on Cancer, mHealth, etc.) that I engaged in via Twitter as I was not able to travel, and I found the weekly #hcsm tweetchat.

The real, substantial conversations I was having and the real, substantial people I was engaging with inspired me to drop the anonymity. These conversations and relationships also helped me find my voice and realize that I could have an impact and be of service.

DS: How have you seen Social Media evolve over time?

LB: Here’s what comes to mind with this question: In 1999, I was working at GeoCities, one of the online community pioneers. A big meme at the time was “the end of bricks and mortar” with people imagining and fearing a world without “in real life” interactions. Meanwhile, at GeoCities we were having monthly conference calls with 40+ online community members from around the world (some as far away as Australia). We would also fly in a community member each month to join us in the room for the call.  This planted a seed in my mind about the true power and possibilities of online communities. A decade or so later, I saw them realized through my engagement on social media. Speaking on the phone with tweeps, meeting them in person, developing meaningful professional relationships and friendships. It’s through social media and social media alone that I found out about Stanford MedicineX and Doctors2.0 and You.

DS: Where you think Social Media brings its greatest benefit?

LB: Social media is a communication tool, like the telephone and the telegraph. It’s all in how you use it. For me, its greatest benefit is how it allows people to interact directly and quickly around common interests and have a real impact. The #bcsm tweetchat is an example of that.

DS: Liza, thank you for a wonderful interview and see you soon.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025
a woman giving a key
How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
Health
July 16, 2025
a woman with kinesio tapes on her back arm
How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

massachusetts general hospital
BusinessSocial Media

Who Knew? Facebook Tops HCAHPS as Measure of Care

April 9, 2015

The Age of the ePatient: Not Quite There Yet

July 26, 2011
Image
Social Media

Does Pharma Get Social Media?

September 24, 2013
Hospitals-1.jpg
eHealthSocial Media

Resolving Duplicate SEO Problems for Healthcare Systems with Multiple Locations

September 15, 2016
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?