Policies & Disclaimers

User Agreement

Please read the following terms and conditions carefully before using this website or any of the resources and services provided by the Life Raft Group ("LRG"). Your use of the LRG website or any LRG resources or services constitutes your agreement to the following terms and conditions contained herein. LRG reserves its right to terminate access to our membership resources at any time if we determine that a user has violated the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement is subject to change at any time and may be modified by LRG without notice. You will be bound by any modifications to this Agreement. Please check regularly for modifications.

Privacy Policy

Privacy is of paramount concern to us and we have all pledged to respect the privacy of members of our group. To help ensure that goal, we restrict membership in our group to GIST patients (and their significant others/caregiver), and we ask for information that will help us to establish that potential members meet membership criteria. We have also agreed not to send information that identifies a particular member to anyone outside of the group without first obtaining that member's permission.

What kind of data does the LRG collect and how does the LRG use it?

We collect basic patient medical data and information relevant to drug response rates and side effects. Unless a member has granted us permission to do otherwise, any data or information that we share is first stripped of what LRG views as identifying information in an attempt to protect the member's privacy. The main format for sharing such information is our Newsletter which is open to members and nonmembers through our website and is also widely distributed to members and nonmembers on our mailing list. Our intention is to give patients/caregivers the information they may need to have an informed and mutually respectful interaction with their doctors, and to give both patients and their doctors the information they may need to better manage their medical care.

We also collect contact information from members and maintain mailing lists in order to share information with our members. We do not sell or otherwise release any contact information we collect to third parties.

How secure is the information members share with the LRG?

We cannot assure you that private information that you intend to keep confidential as between yourself and the LRG via email will never be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with our Privacy Policy. No internet transmission is ever 100% secure or error-free. You should therefore take special care in deciding what information you send via email. Once LRG obtains information that is intended to be treated as confidential, we use our best efforts to keep that information secure from third parties. We cannot guarantee that private information sent to us will never be seen by an unrelated third party.

How secure is the information members share via the electronic mailing list server?

Certain portions of this website encourage members to submit stories or comments with respect to their personal experiences with GIST. Specifically, we provide a forum for member discussion through a secure electronic mailing list server (the "Forum") hosted by the Association of Cancer Online Resources ("ACOR"). Any information that you reveal in the Forum is not protected by the Privacy Policy. We are unable to control or predict exactly what other members do with information they receive electronically. Although we expect our members to respect the privacy of other members, some may divulge the information you share to unrelated third parties. Furthermore, we suggest you review ACOR's privacy policy before participating in the Forum.

When you use passwords, ID numbers, or other special access features on this website, it is your responsibility as a member to safeguard them. We cannot guarantee against any loss, misuse or alteration to data. You should consider these factors in determining whether you wish to provide, via this website or by other means, any information requested by or volunteered to the LRG.

Disclaimers

Medical Disclaimer

We are patients and caregivers, not trained medical professionals. Therefore, please understand that you use of any information LRG shares on this website, or otherwise, is at your own risk. All of the information we provide on our website, or otherwise, is intended to provide general information for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for consultation with your doctor. Any information LRG shares with you is not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as medical advice. Our hope is that through the information we provide, you may be able to have more informed discussions with trained medical professionals. We encourage you to discuss any and all of the information we provide with your doctor.

Disclaimer of Warranty

Every effort to achieve accuracy is made, but we are human and errors occur. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information posted on our website. Specifically, we make no warranties as to accuracy, completeness, currency, reliability, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Please advise us of any errors as quickly as possible to assist us in furthering our goal of providing useful up-to-date information to our members.

The Association of Cancer Online Resources ("ACOR") hosts our electronic mailing list-server and maintains certain databases required for the operations of our services provided via the website. Operation of any website always involves the risk that it may be infected by viruses, defaced, or otherwise altered by computer programs.

We provide access to other websites for your convenience. We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or content of those outside sites, nor do we endorse them. Furthermore, any information you share on such websites is not subject to the terns and conditions contained in this Agreement.

Limitation of Liability

You agree that you will hold LRG and its officers, directors, agents, employees or volunteers harmless from all claims arising out of, or related to, your use of any information that LRG shares with you. You also agree to hold LRG and its officers, directors, agents, employees or volunteers harmless from all claims arising out of, or related to, your access or use of, or your inability to access or use, this website, or other websites to which it is linked.