Iaconesi: Great point. And that's one thing I'm really caring about: combining things in effective ways. To do this, I explicitly ask people (doctors, researchers, regular people... ) who contribute, to compare their approaches, also critically, and to try to understand how and if they should/could be combined, and to what extent.

Even in this scenario doubts remain, obviously. But at least you can benefit from a wider set of competences, technologies, strategies, philosophies and you can have an active role in the decisions which will affect your health.

Also because everyone involved will dedicate energies to make sure that they keep you informed and in the loop, making sure that you are actually able to understand what they're talking about, the implications and side effects, the dangers and problems.

5) Can cancer treatment be crowd-sourced?

Joe Michaels: It would be wonderful if a crowd-sourcing site existed for cancer. Options for treatment (offered by physicians / treatment facilities) could / should include research data on outcomes, side effects, and so on. This would greatly simplify a mystifying experience for many patients.

Iaconesi: This is one of the things we're working on, with a lot of researchers and designers. Something which goes beyond eHealth, and looks at the whole story of people: emotional, lifestyle *and* medical, including data, imaging, history etc. And also taking into account the important issues of privacy and ethics of a thing of this kind -- really really important. We will publish a few things about this in just a bit.

6) Can the Internet make you a medical expert?

Kropotkin: I wish him the best, but it's dangerous to think that because you have access to a wealth of information on a particular subject, you are an expert at interpreting and applying the information. (Read the full comment)

Iaconesi: That is a good point, actually. And, in fact, I feel that I "have become an expert," but through the possibility of accessing the knowledge and competences of people who have expertise on this subject, from a variety of points of view, and also by asking them, if they can, to speak, and confront, and compare, and criticize.

7) Shouldn't you just trust your doctors?

Mr1Man: Truth and knowledge are not democratic. Trust your doctor over the Internet. Do what they say and get better soon. Good Luck.

Iaconesi: I do trust my doctors. All of them. And they trust each other, as well. So much that they are collaborating among (themselves) and with the other people as well. (They are) also helping out to understand the best ways in which collaboration of this kind can take place with the least amount of possible risk, by filtering out useless and dangerous nonsense, and by working together to understand how to combine techniques and how to really *care* about the human being, in the process, by taking into account their lifestyle, their creativity, their engagement. ...

8) Isn't this just nonsense?

Christopher Carr: Homeopathy does not and can not contribute to curing anything. It's just water. And it's not your "spirit" which needs healing. It's your brain -- specifically that tumor -- which is a real thing in your real head.

Iaconesi: Dear Christopher, I hope you never have to deal with this kind of thing. But if you really speak (and I mean really) to someone who has, you will learn some incredible things.

There are many, many approaches to confront this kind of problem. And most of the time they are inaccessible to you, either economically, technically, or even because you don't know about them.

Cancer, like many complex things of our time, is not something for which a "truth" exists. Many explanations are possible and available, as well as techniques to try and cure it.

Furthermore, many of them are compatible with each other. And, by combining them harmoniously, you have the chance to really send powerful messages to your body, working on immune system, cell multiplication and differentation, metabolism, etc. This is what, for me, is looking like the best possible option. For now it has proved effective.

And, BTW, I also don't plan on excluding surgery at all. On the contrary: I wish to use every possible, positive, useful technique, as a combination. Just like science says.