Hospital teaches teens about cancer using social media

Roswell Park, a Buffalo hospital, provides information and comfort in accessible formats

How does a hospital talk to a 13-year-old about cancer?

Roswell Park Cancer Institute in upstate New York found out it’s not the same way you’d talk to an adult.

In 2007, Roswell’s marketing and public affairs department started a campaign initiative to address cancer issues to a younger generation. Called Yroswell, the hospital’s campaign targeted people ages 13 to 22.

“Young people face cancer in a different way,” says Heidi Ofinowicz, marketing communications manager at Roswell Park. Connecting with patients on their own terms meant skipping the medical mumbo-jumbo, complicated statistics and yawn-inducing graphs.

The campaign would be fresh and transparent—and most important, it would be tailored to its audience. The purpose was to connect young people with Roswell Park and the cancer cause.

“We want to demystify cancer,” Ofinowicz says. “We want to help people figure out why it happens, help them learn about it and not be afraid of it.”