Do You Participate in Cancer Surveys?

How many times have you been at the mall and been approached (perhaps almost begged) to take part in a survey? How many times have you said said yes, or no, or just kept right on walking pretending not to even notice the poor person standing there with clipboard in hand? How many times have you felt guilty for giving someone the brush off? 

This has certainly happened to me many times. Generally, I say no. I’m in too big of a hurry or just not interested, usually I don’t even stop or slow down much. And those phone surveys. Never.

Today I’m taking time to slow down and participate. Perhaps you might want to do the same.

I was contacted the other day by a woman from Virginia Commonwealth University who is pursuing her doctoral in counseling/psychology and she asked me if I would be willing to get the word out regarding a survey she is conducting for her dissertation. I agreed to assist her. 

This particular survey’s purpose is to gain a better understanding of the social support and services cancer patients receive online and off. The survey asks you to give your thoughts and feelings on your own support system(s). You merely check answers off, no essay questions involved!

Since I am a big supporter of research, I agreed to not only spread the word here on my blog, but also to complete the survey. It took me about 40  minutes, but I’m slow at this kind of thing; sometimes I over think! Completing this survey got me to thinking a bit about my own support systems, but I’ll save those thoughts for another day so as to not to skew anything improperly.

If you have had cancer or know someone who has and are interested in taking part in this survey, here is the link:   Support Survey.

While I’m at it, another worthwhile survey I took part in recently is the Chemotherapy Hair Loss Study. Hair loss is a HUGE issue for cancer patients (in fact, in my next post I’m revisiting  this topic again) so this survey seems worth the time and only took minutes. Loved that. The findings will be published in international nursing journals and presented at health care conferences, so they will be put to good use. Here is that link as well:  Hair Loss Study.

As a cancer patient, I do feel some responsibility to participate in some stuff like this. I want to do my part in helping others, especially those in the medial community, to better understand cancer’s impact on a person’s psyche as well as the physical ramifications. Sometimes the emotional ramifications cut even deeper.

So take part if you are able or interested!

Do you ever take part in surveys of any kind? Why or why not?

If you have had cancer, do you feel a responsibility to help with this kind of research?