Introducing the Circle Of Sharing™ – are you in?

Highlights To create a Circle Of Sharing on behalf of someone you’re caring for, click here. Circle Of Sharing is personalized, privacy- and security-enhanced, easy-to-use, and convenient.

The American Cancer Society and Microsoft HealthVault have recently introduced a very helpful Web-based tool for people with cancer and their caregivers. Called Circle Of Sharing, this privacy- and security-enhanced online tool provides an easy way to learn more about your loved one's type of cancer, store your loved one's personal cancer information, and share that information with others if you choose. It’s up to you and your loved one.

Here’s How Circle Of Sharing Works:

Your loved one can create a Circle on their own, or you can create it for them. Enter whatever personal cancer information you wish – such as diagnosis, treatment plan, and side effects. You’ll then receive links to articles on cancer.org that directly relate to your loved one's situation. For instance, if you were to enter "breast cancer" as the diagnosis and "radiation" as the treatment, you would receive links to American Cancer Society documents about breast cancer and radiation therapy.

These links are stored in your loved one's Circle Of Sharing so you can go back to them as often as you wish. You can search for and store additional information from cancer.org, and find local resources like treatment centers, support groups, or services that may be relevant to your loved one's situation.

You and your loved one can choose to share any of this information with your trusted circle of caregivers, family, and friends by inviting them to join your loved one's Circle. Members of the Circle can see some general information about how to cope with cancer, and whichever personal documents you make available to them. This allows you to share information about your loved one's cancer experience without having to talk about the same details over and over again. You can also control how much personal information is shared and maintain as much privacy as you want.

You can use the Circle Of Sharing email function to exchange messages with the members of the Circle, too.

Of course, you don't have to invite members into your loved one's Circle if you don't want to. You can use Circle Of Sharing just to learn more about your loved one's cancer and search for resources and programs if you like.

Privacy is protected by Microsoft HealthVault.

To get started with Circle Of Sharing, you'll need to create an account in Microsoft HealthVault. Your personal information will be stored in this account and will be protected by the security and privacy enhancements that Microsoft has built into the system.

The American Cancer Society is here to guide you and your loved one through every step of the cancer experience, so your loved one can focus on getting well. If you need cancer-related information or support, please contact us at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

For a full list of frequently asked questions and answers, including ones about privacy, click here.