There are many reasons to blog: keeping in touch with friends, sharing your expertise, publishing your own stories without waiting for the publishing world’s permission, or chronicling your own journey, whether metaphorical or geographical.
Those fighting chronic illnesses have many compelling reasons to blog. They can trace their reactions to different treatments, get their feelings out and deal with them more effectively (the pressures of not wanting to burden other people can be a huge stressor in and of themselves), and keep in touch with people when they may not feel like having company over. Blog circles and services that deal specifically with patients can be comfortable environments where bloggers feel safe and understood in ways they might not be in the blogosphere at large.
To find bloggers dealing with the same issues as you, surf the Tag Pages for Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, etc, or investigate services such as TheStatus.com, which offers secure, encrypted pages to ensure privacy. Carepages.com is a similar site, although friendlier and more social. Be careful to read the Terms of Service wherever you’re thinking of signing up. MyCancerPlace.com is a similar kind of site for cancer patients, but it takes the copyright for everything that you write or post. This is not, in my opinion, acceptable practice. Be aware, and if you’re blogging on behalf of someone else, be very protective of their rights.
That’s another point: some treatments and illnesses interfere with the patient’s ability to blog for themselves, or to read complicated material. If you know someone in this situation, you can offer to do the setup for them, taking a seemingly enormous load off them, and easing their way into blogging. You could even blog for them, like taking an oral history, or record them and upload the audio. There are many ways to help people connect with those who have shared similar experiences.
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raincoaster media 
katm
July 30, 2007
The fact that the organization takes the bloggers work and asserts copyright on it is horrible. That ticks me off just thinking about it. All the more reason to plow through those terribly boring TOS pages.
raincoaster
July 30, 2007
It was shocking, for sure. I had to read it several times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. I’m glad that this blog exists so that I can put the word out about things like that. You have to be so careful.
test
July 30, 2007
what is the point in connecting with bloggers who have the same diseases as you? is it going to relax you pain or instead alleviate the pain?
raincoaster
July 30, 2007
Illness is a very demoralizing experience, and a lot of people find benefit in talking with people who understand exactly what they’re going through. It’s the principle behind Group Talk Therapy, for instance. When you are dealing with an interest, it’s naturally the focus of your attention, and so you want to talk about it. And you sure as hell don’t want to talk about it with people who will just go “ew!” or “What are you talking about?” or even “I can’t deal with this.” Talking to people who are experiencing the same thing will ensure that everyone is able to understand one another, and can help you find emotional support.
As well, different people in different places around the world will be undergoing different treatments for the same symptoms. You can learn from what they’re going through and perhaps ask your doctor about treatments common elsewhere, but nearly unknown where you live. VERY useful.
katm
July 31, 2007
Well said Rain.
That’s the main reason my blog is about what it is about.
raincoaster
July 31, 2007
Blogs are a very powerful way to beat isolation and help other people, and this blog is all about supporting efforts such as yours.