I think that we have to be careful not to sterotype the roles of men and women, in general.

When I first came here I was a patient and seeking help with tough decisions and issues/problems during and after treatment. I received responses from both male and female fellow patients and remain friends with most of them to this day.

It seemed like there were more patients, in the beginning, but that has changed to more like 50/50. It is quite understandable why many patients don't want to know any sort of information and their caregivers are here for help and knowledge of what to expect.

I started the survivor thread when there were a spate of deaths and there needed to be hope on the forum. Life is really a balancing act so I would suggest that the survivor stories be read as well to balance the grim reality some face here. One must also remember that the total, annual, dx'd cases is around 30K/year and we have no where near that number joining up so the perceptions may be skewed a bit. I also have a theory that many who come here are seeking solutions to unusually severe problems and side effects, and may not be reflective the of collective experience of the total community. So that may need to be factored in as well.

There will never be a "correct" answer to this topic.