Spreading awareness in the era of the Google diagnosis

How many times have you ever spiraled down the Google monster search tunnel when you felt a weird ache? Now, be honest. You've probably done it too many times to count, even though you know better. Why are we so morbidly curious about our own health that we take to the internet to read about the worst-case scenario and self-diagnose ourselves before lab tests and medical professionals can make a proper evaluation?

A TikTok post I made over a year ago about my minimal symptoms and misdiagnosis before my bone cancer diagnosis has recently gotten quite a bit of attention from people who were either already worried about pain in a limb or became so after watching my video. I wondered if I should delete it because the last thing I want to do is panic people who are likely perfectly healthy. I stopped myself because I thought, what if one person actually does have a tumor and hadn't thought to see a doctor until they watched my TikTok?

I've come to understand that by sharing my story I might spark a bit of concern and send a few people on a Google spiral. It is certainly not my intent, and I will continue to do my best to share what I know; leaving out misinformation and fear-mongering, always taking the time to answer questions and make myself available to those who want to learn more about Osteosarcoma. Yes, spreading awareness can, by consequence,  create an environment where fear can grow. But it's still incredibly important to not let that stop you from helping protect others by spreading knowledge and educating those at risk and those with the power to make a difference.

As someone lucky enough to be here after having cancer twice, I think spreading awareness is the least I can do to give back. I wish I knew about Osteosarcoma when I had those deep aches in my knee years ago. Maybe I would have visited the doctor sooner had I known about the signs and risks. I can't go back and change that now. But I can talk about what I know until more people become aware. In the meantime, I will be here to answer all the panicked, Google-induced questions to the best of my ability and make awkward leg jokes for my own sanity.