Doctors don't dispense advice only from medical offices and hospitals. Some of them also share their wisdom online. These five oncologists use their social media platforms to get the word out about cancer prevention and the latest treatment recommendations, as well as combat medical misinformation.
The following Instagram accounts mix clinical insights with personality, style, and a dash of entertainment. If you're not already following these five cancer doctors, you really should be.
Don Dizon, MD
The first thing you might notice about Don Dizon, MD, when you land on his Instagram page is his bold sense of style. Colorful clothes and dance moves add a dash of whimsy to his feed, but his message has meaning — to humanize a profession that can sometimes seem self-important and out of touch.
“I rally against the God complex,” says Dr. Dizon, whose day jobs include director of the Pelvic Malignancies Program at Lifespan Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. “I want to show people that we’re like everybody else. We have these facets of our personalities and these intricacies that make us human.”
Social media also gives Dizon a way to democratize medical information. He can readily share his knowledge with a wide audience, posting the latest medical research and answering followers’ questions about gynecologic cancers.
He’s found that sharing in this way bridges the divide with his own patients, too. “Finding me on social media has created this very comfortable sense of familiarity,” he says. “They’re more willing to ask me questions and to really engage in their care.”
His other goal is to take away the fear that often accompanies a cancer diagnosis. “People almost always, when they hear the word ‘cancer,’ think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it. This is how I die,’” he says. On the South Pacific Island of Guam, where he grew up, death was considered a natural part of life, and not something to fear. “I took that to heart when I became an oncologist, helping people see hope, no matter where they are in their journey with cancer.”
Follow @drdonsdizon
Monique Gary, DO
Monique Gary, DO — or “Dr. Mo,” as her patients affectionately call her — came into medicine naturally. “I come from a family of healthcare professionals. My mother was a nurse. My grandmother was a nurse,” she says. "I can't remember a time when there wasn’t a stethoscope in a room somewhere.”
She was inspired to pursue a career in oncology after her mother died from ovarian cancer and her grandmother was twice diagnosed with breast cancer. Now a breast surgical oncologist and medical director of the Grand View Health–Penn Cancer Network cancer program in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, Dr. Gary uses her expertise and social media platform to improve the outlook for her patients and followers. “If I can give people back a little bit of what cancer tries to take away, that for me is a life well lived,” she says.
During the pandemic, she recognized the urgent need for trustworthy medical information online. “It became glaringly obvious that misinformation was at an all-time high,” she says. “We needed sources that we could trust. I set out at that point to make sure that the information I gave was sound, evidence-based, and reliable.”
She has filled her Instagram feed with solid medical advice: How to understand your breast cancer risks, and why you need to learn your family history and get regular mammograms. Her posts are also meant to foster a sense of trust with patients, especially people of color, who’ve become disillusioned with the medical profession. “I want people to know that there are clinicians who care,” she says. “There are those of us who work to build relationships and to build trust.”
That trust has traversed great distances. A few people who found her online traveled across the country for a consult. “I had a woman come from Texas to see me,” she says. When Gary asked if the long trip had been worth it, the woman replied, “Absolutely.”
Follow @drmoniquegary
Sanjay Juneja, MD
Growing up, Sanjay Juneja, MD, wanted to be a middle school teacher. Then a car accident nearly robbed him of his sight. The ophthalmologist who treated him patiently explained what had happened, and what needed to be done to restore his vision. “That’s what made me decide to go to med school,” says Dr. Juneja, who now works as a hematologist and medical oncologist at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Getting into oncology was an opportunity to teach his own patients, and “hopefully make something that’s really scary a little less scary.”
He became active on social media as a stress reliever during his oncology fellowship. “I used to dance,” he says. “It was therapeutic.” Then a couple of his videos went viral, and he started to see a greater purpose in his growing following — to empower cancer patients with knowledge. “A lot of patients and families feel very hopeless and control-less from the diagnosis,” he says. “I want to give some of that control back.”
Dancing to pop music is a surprisingly effective way to get his message out to a wide audience. While a serious discussion on his podcast might reach a few thousand people, a dancing social media post about new cancer drugs captures more than two million views in less than 72 hours.
“It’s crazy,” he says. “But that’s how you reach people.” His social media personality has earned him invitations to help shape healthcare policy, including as part of the 2023 White House Healthcare Leaders in Social Media Roundtable series.
Juneja often hears from his followers the impact he’s had on them and their families. “I was at an event speaking and the photographer came up to me and said, ‘I just want you to know, my grandmother is off hospice and has no visible disease because of your TikTok.’ It’s humbling.”
Follow @theoncdoc
Eleonora Teplinsky, MD
A “passion for women’s health” drove Eleonora Teplinsky, MD, to specialize in breast and gynecologic oncology. A pressing need to combat misinformation brought her to social media.
“Misinformation can lead to adverse health outcomes, so it is critical that healthcare professionals sharing accurate and evidence-based information are present in these spaces,” says Dr. Teplinsky, who is head of breast and gynecologic medical oncology at Valley–Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care in Paramus, New Jersey, and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Her Instagram feed focuses on the full scope of gynecologic cancer concerns, from reducing risk to screening, diagnosis, and the latest treatments. She’s found many teaching moments along the way, even sharing her own mammogram and hysterectomy experiences with her 18,000 followers.
What has the response been like? “Followers who have reached out to me have told me that they find the information I am sharing helpful,” she says. “It empowers them to be informed and educated, and to advocate for themselves with their healthcare team.”
Follow @drteplinsky
Julie Croley, MD
The artistry of reconstructing a patient’s appearance and the exciting advancements in treatment were two of the things that attracted Julie Croley, MD, to skin cancer surgery during medical school. “I find immense satisfaction in seeing my patients get better,” says the Mohs surgeon, who practices in The Woodlands, Texas.
She packs her Instagram page with skin cancer awareness and prevention tips for her 24,000-plus followers — like how to spot a basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma at home or reverse sun damage with sunscreen. By establishing an online presence, Dr. Croley also aims to increase the visibility of women in medicine and inspire the next generation of medical leaders.
Followers credit her with creating a welcoming community, but she says the connection goes both ways. “I truly feel like I learn as much from others on my platform as they learn from me.”
Follow @dr.skinandsmiles
