Until November of 1995 my life was a quiet one, very predictable, organized, and planned. Then my world turned upside down when I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I didn't even realize just exactly what the diagnosis meant until I read the word "terminal".

We began to search for information and support to help deal with this new twist of fate, and found a wealth of material on the internet. We also found several sources of support through the news groups like Cancer-L, BMT, NHL, and Hem-Onc. However we felt there was another area that could be developed to enhance support on-line. There are many times where we and those who care for us need instant support, because of the many questions and concerns we have.

It will be 10 years this coming November of 2005 that #OncoChat has been in existence. We remain a informal chat channel that provides a safe place to talk about feelings, vent anger, shed tears, and many times laugh. We are very proud that our channel has grown and is in the process of expanding. We now have a sister channel on DALnet, and we will soon have our own cancer support IRC server.

I am also pleased that my children have a safe place to vent on DaLnet, where there is a channel called #touchstone. I have a 23 year old son, a 21 year old daughter, and 14 year old twin daughters. Tyger and I continue in our search for information and invite you to join our "cyber" family on #OncoChat! We also welcome you to visit our own home page, Reflections of OncoChat. It is a personal Home Page dedicated to Our Cyber Family on #Oncochat