Back in 2003, when Amy Ohm was treated for melanoma, the internet was a chaotic mess of information. Her diagnosis inspired her to help others better understand their options.

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Transcript

My name is Amy Ohm. I am 41, and my diagnosis was stage 3A melanoma. Back in 2003, I had a mole on my back. A call came from the doctor, and she said that it was melanoma. I quickly got on the web. Eight years ago, the web was incredibly unstructured. There was really no notion of social networking or, um, friendly support groups or, or forums.

It was all very clinical. There wasn’t a connection to survivors. So after my battle with melanoma, I was really focused on finding purpose in my illness. And as such, was able to found treatmentdiaries. com. Uh, this organization is one which caters to all of those who are chronically ill, in addition to those who care and advocate for them.

So, it’s a free resource that allows individuals to come together, create diaries, share those diaries out, and show support and inspiration, uh, for one another through any, uh, stage of their illness. The birth of Treatment Diaries came from the fact that when I visited the web for information and support, I couldn’t find any.

And so I felt pretty passionate about the fact that nobody should have to go through that. But when you are chronically ill, there comes depression and anxiety. You know, is it going to come up again? Um, you have more than one chronic illness, you don’t just have one. So there’s this need for going to a site to connect on, on many different conditions, not just one.

And what we’re finding with treatment diaries is the, the notion of I’ve got melanoma, my child has ADHD, my husband has type 2 diabetes, my parents have Alzheimer’s. So people are registering for up to 5 to 7 conditions, they can register for up to 20, and they’re connecting on all different types of illnesses.

And as opposed to being really kind of stuck in the moment and living with their illness, they’re actually empowered to help other people through theirs because they have this understanding of what it’s like to go through it. It absolutely gives me purpose in everything that I do. So I feel that I finally, understand the, the reason behind the cancer.

That I can put that energy towards helping other people. you know, I get out of bed in the morning and I’m excited to read the diaries. To see how it’s helping people make it through the day.