Sometimes when all else fails, hearing it from the horse's mouth might be more convincing. Patient support groups are all about that actually – hearing about it from the person who has seen it, and more importantly, felt it all. Whether it is prevention, making the choice of treatment, handling stress and emotional disturbances in the family, lifestyle modifications, honest and frank advice from a patient who has survived a similar condition is valuable. “In certain chronic conditions, patients will undergo tremendous stress and will often be undecided what to do next. They may speak with their specialist for one hour and still remain confused. But a mere 15-minute discussion with a survivor will make a difference,” says S. M. Chandramohan, head, Surgical Gastroenterology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. “We have cancer survivors, and their family members, who act as ambassadors, not just for the disease or treatment, but also about how to live on,” he adds....