Smart Patients

What do you do with grief when the person you're grieving is still alive?

Ask the Expert: Navigating Gradual Loss, Grief, and Caregiving
With experts from: Family Caregiver Alliance
March 4-6, 2026
Asynchronous three-day conversation
Join at: https://www.smartpatients.com/partners/fca

You don't have to be fearless. Whether you're the one diagnosed or the one caring for someone you love—fear is part of the journey.

But so is courage. You just have to decide to keep going anyway.

#SmartPatients #PatientCommunity #Courage

Yesterday was National Family Caregivers Day. Thank you for carrying the emotional, relational, and existential weight—not just tasks. We know that your work matters. Read the full story: https://ow.ly/u1XH50Yj4tl

#NationalCaregiversDay #Caregivers #FamilyCaregiverAlliance #ElixirFund

Today is National Caregivers Day. Thank you to:

Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) - for providing expert support, resources, & guidance to family caregivers.
Elixir Fund - for supporting caregivers with practical resources & compassionate guidance for those navigating complex health journeys.

"At KidneyCouch, we are dedicated to providing a supportive and informative space for kidney cancer patients and those who are also dealing with chronic kidney disease." That mission aligns perfectly with ours.

Join our community:https://ow.ly/IycK50YeB0S

#KidneyCouch #SmartPatients

"What's my breast density?" This question can change your screening plan & help you understand your cancer risk.

My Density Matters has created a one-stop resource center to get answers: https://ow.ly/bqAt50Y91Fg

#FOMBDD #FindOutMyBreastDensityDay #MyDensityMatters #SmartPatients

If you missed our Valentine's Day story, it's worth going back to read.

Here is the link to I Am...Getting Beyond the Diagnosis: https://research.smartpatients.com/resources/i-amgetting-beyond-the-diagnosis

#SmartPatients #PatientCommunity #CancerSupport

Thank you, Ulman Foundation, for an unforgettable visit! What you offer young adults facing & treating cancer is beyond laudable! Seeing the names on the wall of all of those who you reach is a testament to the warm community you provide.

#UlmanFoundation #CancerSupport #Baltimore #SmartPatients

Together for Sharon published a blog introducing Smart Patients to his Parkinson's community. Thank you!

Read the blog here: https://ow.ly/tWKF50YeCEW
Join Smart Patients: https://ow.ly/h5PL50YeCEV

#TogetherForSharon #SmartPatients #ParkinsonsDisease

Love is showing up. Read I Am…Getting Beyond the Diagnosis to see love in action: https://ow.ly/Vk3650YfmqX

Our Smart Patients Team wishes a happy Valentine's Day to all the people with love in their hearts, and love to all who feel it's missing.

#ValentinesDay #SmartPatients #CancerCommunity

We're proud to partner with KidneyCouch—a comprehensive resource for people navigating kidney cancer and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Knowledge + connection = better care.

https://www.smartpatients.com/partners/kidneycouch

#KidneyCancer #KidneyCouch #SmartPatients #ChronicKidneyDisease #CKD

For most cancers, "stable" means relief. For bile duct cancer, it often means the hardest decisions are just beginning.

Read I Am…Living Between Stable and Uncertain: https://ow.ly/cncf50YbLLg

#Cholangiocarcinoma #BileDuctCancer #SmartPatient

Some friendships start over coffee.
Others start with: "Has anyone else been through this?"

The friends you find in patient communities understand in ways others simply can't.

Find your people at Smart Patients. https://www.smartpatients.com/

#MakeAFriend #SmartPatients #FindYourPeople

February is Rare Disease Month. 400 million people globally live with rare diseases. Most face diagnostic delays, limited treatments, and isolation. We partner with the SRNA to change that.

Check out SRNA's podcast: https://ow.ly/ARYY50YbYm4

#RareDiseaseMonth #SRNA #SmartPatients

Happy Monday Smart Patients Community!

Big news: We have fresh new cards ready to share—and we need your help spreading the word.
Order yours today and help connect people to peer support when they need it most.

Get cards: https://www.smartpatients.com/orders

#SmartPatients #PatientSupport

Illness carves into you and changes the landscape of who you are. It can make you deeper and more expansive.

So why not think of yourself as a human Grand Canyon?

You are irreplaceable, awe-inspiring and canyon-level magnificent.

#SmartPatients #PatientVoices #Resilience

Cholangiocarcinoma patients face one of the rarest, most challenging cancers to treat. Read how bile duct cancer patients navigate impossible choices: https://ow.ly/pnS250Yajks
Connect with others who understand: https://ow.ly/8MKY50Yajkt

#BileDuctCancer #Cholangiocarcinoma #SmartPatients

Today is a day to think about women and cardiovascular health. Even though heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, it's largely preventable.

Share what you know on https://www.smartpatients.com/.

#WearRedDay #GoRedForWomen #SmartPatients #WomensHeartHealth

Cervical cancer survivors will often remind you that most cervical cancers are preventable & that the HPV vaccination works.

Learn more by visiting our friends at Cervivor, Inc. & read: https://ow.ly/ScoL50Y7x7E

#CervicalCancer #HPVAwareness #CervicalHealth #Cervivor #SmartPatients

In patient communities, we act together every day. But community alone can't close the care gap.

Peer support + systemic change = real progress.

What does "acting together" mean to you?

#WorldCancerDay #CloseTheCareGap #SmartPatients #ActTogether

NEW at Smart Patients: Introducing Living With It
Inaugural Topic: After Treatment Ends: Why Survivorship Can Feel Harder Than Expected
Expert: KrisAnn Talarico, Curveball Counseling LLC
When: Feb 2 - Feb 6
Format: Ask anything, anytime
https://www.smartpatients.com/topics/living-with-it

Repetition can mean another day and another chance.

To everyone walking circles today, literally or figuratively: your routine matters.

Happy Groundhog Day. May you get as many loops as you need!

What are your figure-8s?

#GroundhogDay #SmartPatients #PatientWisdom

Illness has a way of burning through what we thought mattered and it may bring an unexpected clarity.

What did illness take from you? What did it unexpectedly give?

Share your story: https://www.smartpatients.com

#PatientCommunity #SmartPatients

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. This letter offers the kind of honest guidance you won't find in a pamphlet. Most cervical cancers are preventable. Read more: https://ow.ly/sQEJ50Y5AS4

Thank you Cervivor, Inc. for all the work you do!

#CervicalHealthAwarenessMonth #HPVPrevention

You finished treatment. So why do you feel lost instead of relieved? Smart Patients is launching Living With It—a new series bringing experts into extended conversation with our community. Our inaugural topic is on "After Treatment Ends:" Join us this week: https://ow.ly/Shtr50Y635J

1,000 posts. Three years. One question: "What music rescues you?" The answers created a 4 part series about how shared music is part of survival and community. Movement IV is the chorus (& includes the Smart Patients' playlist): https://ow.ly/SGfc50Y4mtX

#MusicToTheRescue #SmartPatients

We feel terrible that we missed Healthcare Continuing Education Professionals Day so we're saying a late thank you!

Thank you to the Alliance for Continuing Health Care Professionals!

What's one thing you wish every healthcare provider learned in their continuing education?

#CEProfessionalsDay

Children see what adults sometimes forget: that imagination can be armor.

That love can be medicine. Out of the mouths of children come the metaphors we need most.

How have children in your life helped you see cancer differently?

#CancerCommunity #SmartPatients #HealingImagery #LoveAndCancer

If cancer were a poem, what would its metaphors be? This is the type of question that invites others to express what clinical language can't capture.

Art gives us permission to say the unsayable .

How would you describe cancer through art?

#CancerAndArt #ArtHeals #PatientVoices #SmartPatients

Smart Patients is more than a support group. It's a chorus. We say this because for over 3 years, 1,000 posts from just one conversation demonstrate the power of music and how it creates community. Read the finale of "I Am...Rescued by Music": https://ow.ly/ryqJ50Y0iyi

#SmartPatients #MusicHeals