IMPORTANT RULES AND WEB SITE AGREEMENT

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the BreastHealthOnline website. By accessing or using the site, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth below. Violation of the terms and conditions set forth below may result in your account being banned and/or legal action being taken against you if warranted.  If you do not wish to be bound by these terms and conditions, you may not access or use the site.

1. You must be a woman of at least 18 years of age to use our site. By entering, using, registering, and/or logging on to this site, you certify that you are at least 18 years of age. BreastHealthOnline is not liable for any reliance by any user on the information obtained from this site.

2. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Because of our non-profit status, you must follow 3 important rules:

    a.) You may not post any political statements, positions, arguments, jokes, or discussions. They will be removed.

    b.) You may not post sexually explicit material, either in the form of postings, jokes, or discussions or in the form of photographic material. Surgical photos of your breast surgery on the appropriate members only picture board are acceptable. You may discuss aspects of the safety of returning to your intimate life with your spouse or significant other in terms of your surgery and recovery, but explicit details are not necessary, nor are they welcome and are against site rules.

    c.) You may not post any jokes, discussions, arguments, positions, preachings, scriptures, verses, or statements about religion in your posts or your signature lines.

         Prayer requests: Posts with general information, concerns, fears, and anxiety regarding surgery and a mention of "I could use your prayers" are acceptable at the main surgery boards. Members offering well wishes to another member and stating that they have a member in their prayers is also acceptable at the main surgery boards. Off topic prayer requests are not acceptable.Starting a lead post asking for prayers is not a good idea. Asking for good thoughts and well wishes is and usually gets better results in the end.

We reserve the right to edit or remove any post (without notification) for content that puts our non-profit status in jeopardy. Questions about this policy must be addressed via our Help Desk and not on the public boards.

3. BreastHealthOnline is an adult breast surgery support site that enables people to communicate with each other on public forum boards. Opinions and views expressed and posted on these boards are views of the members who posted them and do not necessarily represent the views of BreastHealthOnline. While we own the copyright to all materials entered onto this site, we are not responsible for the content of such messages and postings.

4. You may not make libelous comments or accusations about anyone, including your physician. Unfortunate and regrettable situations can occur with any surgery. If you are an ESTABLISHED PATIENT MEMBER with a continuous posting history you are welcome to discuss what has happened to you (good or bad) and receive information and support, but you must take care to not create a libelous and defaming legal situation for yourself or for BreastHealthOnline. Any posts of this nature will be removed and you will be denied further access to the site, including loss of any privileges you formerly held. You may also be legally responsible for your actions.

 Additionally, if you are a surgeon and you or your staff (wittingly or unwittingly) are using our site to post false and libelous experiences or reviews about another surgeon's practice, we will work with that surgeon to prosecute you and your staff to the fullest extent of the law. ALL users post copies will be retained for legal reasons in the event they are subpoenaed in a court of law. We will not tolerate being put in this situation on your behalf and you are legally responsible for any posts you may make, whether you are a patient, a doctor or a doctor's staff member.

 Examples of acceptable posts by patients are simply relating your surgery story and what happened to you in a step by step fashion without derogatory comments towards those who were involved in your treatment or care. Examples of unacceptable posts are calling a person or physician names such a 'butcher', or 'quack',  or using statements such as 'incompetent', etc. There are other finer points of 'blaming doctors' when in fact, the patient did not provide the necessary care for themselves so you might consider all aspects before making accusations. Additionally, if you feel you've suffered an egregious break down in care, you need to consult your lawyer, not use our site for justice. We will review posts on a case by case basis and apply editing and retain posts for legal reasons when necessary, without notification.

5. The entire contents of the site are copyrighted under the United States copyright laws. The owner of the copyright is BreastHealthOnline. The information and photographs found herein may NOT be copied, duplicated, downloaded, or redistributed in ANY form without the express written consent of BreastHealthOnline. We employ a variety of tracking mechanisms to preserve, detect, and enforce our copyrights.

6. Users of the site agree to treat one another with kindness and respect. We expect a high level of compassion, understanding, and decorum. Should you have a concern, question, conflict or misunderstanding with any member of our boards or staff, please contact us. Hostile arguments of any kind are not permitted on our forum boards. We will not tolerate postings that contain inappropriate language, threats, derogatory remarks, insults to particular ethnic groups, or religious beliefs or comments that we deem may make others feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. BreastHealthOnline reserves the right to remove ANY post or photograph that we feel is considered harmful, offensive, abusive, or non-productive without warning and without notification nor explanation of having done so.

7. We reserve the right to refuse access to any individual or group without prior notification to those participating inappropriately or abusing the site. Activities of this kind will be reported to their internet service provider and/or law enforcement agencies, as we deem necessary.

8. The site contains public forum boards that are accessible to the general public. All material that you post, whether it is text or photographs, has the potential to be seen by Internet users worldwide. Although access to some areas of the site is restricted, there are ways that others can illegally enter these protected areas. By posting on our boards or submitting your photographs, you understand that BreastHealthOnline has no control over this material and will not be liable for the actions of others who may misuse or illegally re-print this material.

9. Users of this site have the option of displaying or hiding their personal email addresses. If you choose to display your email address, you understand that anyone may view this address and contact you for any purpose, including solicitation and possible harassment, even though doing so is against our rules. If you wish to contact a BreastHealthOnline member who has a hidden email address, please advise the BreastHealthOnline staff and if the other party agrees, we will assist you in doing so.

10. Use of this site makes you responsible for all postings that are created from your account. We suggest that you use a password specific to BreastHealthOnline and that you not allow the use of your computer by anyone who may abuse our rules. Do not post your home address, phone number, or other personal information on ANY boards on the site. Posts with information such as addresses or phone numbers will be removed by BreastHealthOnline for your protection, but we are not responsible for any consequences you may suffer between the time you post personal information and we remove it.

11. BreastHealthOnline makes no warranties that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. The information contained herein is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians or other healthcare professionals. While the surgeons we recommend and list in the site have met certain criteria, no guarantees can be made by us regarding the expertise of the individual surgeons presented. We strongly urge prospective patients to independently confirm all qualifications and expertise of the selected surgeon by contacting the medical boards and surgical societies to which they belong. BreastHealthOnline disclaims all liability resulting from treatment by any doctor listed on the website. In no event shall BreastHealthOnline have any liability for incidental or consequential damages. It is solely your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness, and usefulness of all opinions, advice, services, merchandise, products and other information provided through the site.

12. You may not post or transmit any advertising, promotional materials, or any other form of solicitation on the site unless PRIOR authorization is granted by BreastHealthOnline.

13. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless BreastHealthOnline, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, suppliers, and any third party information providers to the site from and against all losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting from any violation of this Agreement by you.

14. As a non-profit, our organization is governed by the 501 (c) 3 laws and guidelines as outlined by the Internal Revenue Service. Rules about advertising through a non-profit are very strict. Members are not allowed to post websites on our non-profit. Soliciting BreastHealthOnline members to purchase products, goods, or services or to visit other websites via emails or posts is not allowed and can result in site access denial or legal action being taken against you. You may post your homepage in your stats, but urging members to visit your stats in order to visit your page is the same as posting your URL on the site directly and is against site rules. You may not add your web site URL to your signature line.  Offering your email address and inviting members to email you for further information about advice or a URL is the same as posting your personal, professional, or alternate website address on the site and is against site rules. Members soliciting other members in this fashion may have their access permanently denied, including any non-refundable membership accesses you may hold.

15. You may not request or solicit another member to email you their pre- or post-surgery photographs. You may not offer to send another member your pre- or post- surgery photographs.  BreastHealthOnline has designed several restricted access boards to post photographs. To apply for access to these boards please go here.

16. Surgery is stressful, and everyone says insensitive things or snaps at another person occasionally. Try to understand that a member may be in pain or having a really bad day. Should you need to address the situation, however, please respond to that person in a calm, open, and diplomatic manner and allow that person to make amends. Alternatively, if you are addressed about a post that was hurtful to another member, please bear in mind all that was said above and try to make amends with the person if at all possible. We're all just human. These are not just suggestions; we expect these guidelines to be followed should a problem arise. We also may remove the posts of such a situation once it has been resolved since they are not part of our breast health support and have no value to the other members.

Please enjoy our site. Our incredible staff and caring members are a wonderful group of supportive people from all over the world who offer advice, friendship, and concern collectively as a community to all that visit.