Brian Loew, CEO

Margaret,

We only rarely remove members. Overall, only 1 in 5,000 members has ever been removed from Inspire. And when we do so, it is never because of an opinion expressed by that member, but rather a response, with many warnings, to bad behavior by that member. Some of this behavior happens one-on-one, out of view of the broader group, but that doesn't make it any less hurtful and serious. Without describing exactly what happened in this particular case, I can tell you that in the past, some members have verbally attacked other members or Inspire staff, or cruelly threatened others, mocked them, called them names, berated them, or insulted them repeatedly. In other cases, members have been so disruptive to activities of their fellow members that those other members have been prevented from expressing their own opinions.

We care deeply about the safety and privacy of our members, and encourage everyone to express themselves freely. And we care a great deal about helping advance cancer research and treatment.

I am happy to discuss this on the telephone with you.

thank you,
Brian