What Is PeopleBeatingCancer?
PeopleBeatingCancer.org is an interactive health communication application that provides evidence-based education, survivorship coaching, and information on integrative therapies to help patients and caregivers make informed treatment decisions.
The Galen Foundation DBA PeopleBeatingCancer is an IRS-approved 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Galen’s initial work, since it’s founding in 2004, has been to support cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Beginning in 2025, Galen’s second effort is to support patients with Marfan syndrome.
Both my personal experience as a long-term cancer survivor, coupled with studies, confirm that social networking about cancer through applications like PeopleBeatingCancer.org empowers survivors and caregivers to communicate about their health challenges and, in doing so, live better, longer lives.
PeopleBeatingCancer is efficient and effective in targeting people with chronic diseases with information, education, and support about the spectrum of health issues they face. As a cancer survivor and Marfan syndrome patient who has managed his health since 1999, my goal is to help chronic disease survivors and caregivers think outside the box. Ask a question, post a comment, or join in a discussion, and I will reply to you within 48 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PeopleBeatingCancer a nonprofit?
Yes. PeopleBeatingCancer operates as The Galen Foundation DBA PeopleBeatingCancer, an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Who founded PeopleBeatingCancer?
PeopleBeatingCancer was founded by long-term multiple myeloma survivor David Emerson.
Does PeopleBeatingCancer provide medical advice?
PeopleBeatingCancer provides educational resources and coaching support, but does not replace licensed medical care.
What types of cancer does PeopleBeatingCancer cover?
PeopleBeatingCancer provides information on many cancers, treatment side effects, survivorship topics, and integrative therapies.
To learn more about PeopleBeatingCancer:
Beliefs
We believe that individuals who manage their health live longer, better lives. A cancer diagnosis is frightening, depressing, and often overwhelming. There are medical terms we don’t understand and treatments we have never heard of. While conventional oncology is important, both traditional and non-traditional therapies must be considered, and the many possible decisions surrounding a diagnosis ultimately rest with the individual.
We believe that learning from the experiences of others helps people live longer, better lives. Networking is a human instinct. When we need advice, we ask someone with experience. The information we provide is largely experience-based. We are a network, not a textbook.
We believe that awareness of a full spectrum of approaches to confronting cancer will help people live longer, better lives. We welcome open discussion about any cancer-fighting strategy because we believe everyone has a right to make their own decisions about their health.
We believe that the profit motive can be detrimental to successful disease management. Galen, the ancient Greek physician after whom our organization is named, believed that the profit motive is incompatible with true healing. Unlike many other organizations devoted to health, the Galen Foundation is not funded by pharmaceutical corporations.
History
The Galen Foundation was founded by David Emerson, a cancer survivor from Cleveland, Ohio. In 1994, David was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. After surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, the myeloma returned. David’s oncologist told him that nothing more could be done. That was in September of 1997.
Confused and angered by the limitations of conventional oncology, David defied statistical odds by finding and using other therapies to survive. He sought out the Burzynski Research Institute in Houston, Texas, where he underwent antineoplaston therapy. Seventeen months later, his lesions disappeared, and since April of 1999, David has been cancer-free.
David learned from his experience, and although he knows that the specific therapy he chose will not work for everyone, he believes strongly that people facing cancer have a right to information about a full spectrum of approaches to confronting cancer. The information about multiple myeloma that David found on the internet helped to save his life, and he is passionate about helping others succeed in their battles against cancers of all kinds.
