BackgroundSocial network sites have been growing in popularity across broad segments of Internet users, and are a convenient means to exchange information and support. Research on their use for health-related purposes is limited.ObjectiveThis study aimed to characterize the purpose, use, and creators of Facebook groups related to breast cancer.MethodsWe searched Facebook (www.Facebook.com) using the term breast cancer. We restricted our analysis to groups that were related to breast cancer, operated in English, and were publicly available. Two of us independently extracted information on the administrator and purpose of the group, as well as the number of user-generated contributions. We developed a coding scheme to guide content analysis.ResultsWe found 620 breast cancer groups on Facebook containing a total of 1,090,397 members. The groups were created for fundraising (277/620, 44.7%), awareness (236, 38.1%), product or service promotion related to fundraising or awareness (61, 9%), or patient/caregiver support (46, 7%). The awareness groups as a whole contained by far the most members (n = 957,289). The majority of groups (532, 85.8%) had 25 wall posts or fewer. The support oriented groups, 47% (27/57) of which were established by high school or college students, were associated with the greatest number of user-generated contributions.ConclusionsFacebook groups have become a popular tool for awareness-raising, fundraising, and support-seeking related to breast cancer attracting over one million users. Given their popularity and reach, further research is warranted to explore the implications of social network sites as a health resource across various health conditions, cultures, ages, and socioeconomic groups.

Purpose Online communities have been heralded as one of the most promising health resources on the Internet. The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics and levels of use of online communities for breast cancer survivors. Methods Using Google, we identified websites with a string of computer-mediated communication terms and individual queries of three to five words of online community terms. This was complemented by a review of website resource lists and personal libraries. Two reviewers independently extracted information on their general characteristics and number of members and message board posts. A coding scheme guided content analysis. Results We found 111 websites. Most sites (n064, 65.8 %) had a broad focus (e.g., health, cancer, or general). One third (n038, 34.2 %) were exclusive to breast cancer and 11 catered to specific disease characteristics. The majority were American (n079, 75.2 %), nonprofit (55.0 %), and moderated (69.5 %). Most moderators (85.7 %) were staff or community members; eight sites were moderated by health professionals. Greater than one-third of sites (n040, 36 %) were initiated by breast cancer survivors or loved ones. Breast cancer-specific sites contained a total of 4,186,275 posts. One-third (n010) contained 93.4 % of posts, displaying over 100,000 posts each. As of April 3, 2012, eight sites were discontinued. Conclusions There is a wide range of online communities available for breast cancer survivors with extensive archives of personal illness experiences. Future efforts should focus on identifying the factors that determine their success and effectiveness.