Patients > Why Join a Patient Community?

To Connect with Other Patients

If you have a rare disease, you know how lonely it can be to cope with symptoms and to seek out treatment. When you join a patient community, you realize that you're not alone in this.

To Learn From Those Who Know

While a patient is not a substitute for professional medical care, only a patient who has been in your shoes can understand what it's really like. Join a patient community and learn from others who've been there.

To Help Other People Like You

When you were first diagnosed, you remember how scary it was. Over the years, you've learned how to cope with the emotions. Many members join a patient community just days after being diagnosed, so your comforting words are priceless.

Real Lives Changed

Communities

27 communities launched... and counting.

· Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
· ADHD/ADD
· Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)
· Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)
· Ataxia (International)
· Ataxia (U.S.A.)
· Atrial Septal Defect
· Autism
· Brain Aneurysms
· Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT)
· Chiari Malformation
· Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)
· Crohn's Disease
· Disabilities
· Eagle Syndrome
· Erythromelalgia
· Fibromyalgia
· Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia (GPN)
· Hepatitis C
· Lupus
· Multiple Myeloma
· Myositis
· Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC)
· Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)
· Synovial Sarcoma
· Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN)
· Von Willebrand's Disease (VWD)

Other Rare Diseases

Are you in crisis? Please call 1-800-273-TALK

Sponsor a Community

Ben’s Friends is made up of an army of volunteers and relies on donations to fund operations.

Make a One-Time Donation

Your one-time donation goes directly towards supporting our patient communities.

4 Quick Ways You Can Help

1. Tell a friend or relative that we may have a community for them. Our communities are listed on the left side of this page.

2. Tell journalists and bloggers about our story and our mission.

3. Help us launch a new patient community for someone you know. Email info@bensfriends.org.

4. Help our Google rankings by linking to BensFriends.org or any community from any web site you can.