Support beyond the clinic.
A safe South African community for patients — practical guidance, shared experience, and calm reassurance during treatment and recovery.
What you can expect when you join
A private patient network
Connect with fellow patients who understand the day-to-day reality. Ask practical questions, share experiences, and feel less isolated in a moderated, respectful space.
Simple, locally relevant information
Read clear explanations and practical summaries designed for South African patients. Learn what to expect during common phases of treatment and how to prepare for typical challenges.
Guides, checklists and resources
Access patient-friendly resources that help you organise information, think through questions for your clinical team, and navigate treatment with more confidence.
Practical posts you can return to
Short, focused posts on common concerns, side effects, hospital routines and recovery. Built to be readable, not overwhelming.
Short explanations and guidance
Video content that explains key topics in plain language and addresses questions patients often have but may not know how to ask.
Topic-based discussions
Organised discussion areas so you can find people dealing with similar situations and follow ongoing threads without noise.
Private community, granted access
MAP is a private, invite-only patient community. Access is granted, not a right, and eligibility is verified against existing records. MAP is not open to the general public.
MAP does not replace clinical care. The platform exists to support you with education, structure and peer connection — areas that often feel thin during a difficult journey. Your decision to join (or not join) will not affect your medical treatment in any way.
Important: MAP is independent and not affiliated with your treating clinic or doctor. We do not provide treatment advice. Please direct medical decisions and urgent concerns to your own treating doctor or clinical team.
Free blog examples
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Read →Video previews
Video title #1
Clear explanations in plain language, focused on what patients commonly ask.
Watch →Video title #2
Practical guidance for day-to-day challenges during treatment and recovery.
Watch →Video title #3
Supportive discussions, common concerns, and how to prepare for key milestones.
Watch →Why a community can help
We are genuinely sorry that you are facing this diagnosis. Even with excellent medical care, the experience can feel isolating, emotionally exhausting, and practically overwhelming.
Research across many chronic and cancer-related settings consistently shows that patients who feel supported cope better, report less distress, and often feel more confident in navigating treatment. The benefit is usually not “more medical advice”, but reduced isolation, shared practical experience, and a safe place to make sense of what is happening.
MAP is built to offer that support in a structured, private environment: a moderated community, clear education, and resources you can return to when you need them.
Membership fee and pilot growth phase
MAP includes a membership fee. This supports ongoing running costs, privacy and security measures, and community moderation. It also allows the platform to expand over time with additional content, tools and features.
The platform is currently in a growing pilot phase. Space in the pilot is limited to protect privacy, maintain quality moderation, and ensure the community remains safe and responsive for members.
If pilot capacity is reached, requests may be paused or deferred. Joining early means you become part of a developing South African community, helping shape something that is not widely available locally.
Request access
If you have not received an invite, you may submit a request below. Your details will be checked against existing records, and an invite will be sent if eligibility is confirmed and pilot capacity allows.
We reserve the right to refuse access to patients, or cancel memberships, if rules set out in the community policy document are not followed.
Financial assistance
If you cannot afford the monthly cost, you may email freemembership@medicalassistanceprogram.co.za and we will review your request. This is assessed at our discretion and is not guaranteed.
We wish you strength and steadiness for the road ahead. If MAP can make even a small part of this journey feel more supported, more informed, and less isolating, then it is doing what it was built to do. From the team at MAP.