Would you ever think of joining a community organized around a disease or disability?

Cancer, diabetes, MS, heart disease, mental illness etc.: would you ever feel like being part of a “community” formed around your condition? By “community” I mean some kind of voluntary association, like fluther or like a network or support group and not a residential facility.

What benefit would you expect? Would it make living with your condition feel more normal or less normal to be among people who had the same problem and where that was the focus of your interaction?