Breast Cancer: Web Sites You Can Use.

According to Cancer Cafe's special section on breast cancer, (www.cancercareinc.org/campaigns/breastcancer1.htm), about 182,800 women and 1,400 men in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. While the current explosion of online cancer information makes it impossible to list all the internet breast cancer resources, here are some important Web sites to use as a starting point for your research.

The most current cancer treatment information is found at OncoLink (http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/disease). For general information, look for breast cancer in the alphabetical list. Article entries are annotated, allowing you to find definitions of difficult terms and cross-references to additional in; formation. To get even more information, enter "breast cancer" into their search engine and target your search by adding other terms, such as "treatment" or "doctors," connected by the word AND in capital letters. Using AND will bring up articles that contain all of the search terms. You can also use NOT to eliminate terms you don't want in your search.

Use the National Institutes of Health's CancerNet (http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov) to find detailed information. Start with the Physician Data Query (PDQ) statements, which are listed in alphabetical order by type of cancer. Here you will find information about the nature of breast cancer as well as numerous treatments. There are resources for laypeople as well as for medical professionals. When you talk to your doctor you will be able to ask informed questions about your cancer treatment. For an in-depth search, check out their database (http//:cancernet.nci.nih.gov/searchoptions.html) and enter search terms just as you did with OncoLink. You can find abstracts of medical articles and summaries of the latest news at CANCERLIT (http://[e-mail]/cancerlit/html).

Both OncoLink and CancerNet are updated often and worth at least a monthly check. To add even more to your information on breast cancer, follow the links to breast cancer information found at MedWeb (www.meclweb.emory.edu/MedWeb) or check out NOAH's cancer center (in both English and Spanish) at www.noah-health.org. The American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Resource Center gives detailed information on all aspects of breast cancer (www3.cancer.org/cancerinfo/load_cont.asp).

NABCO, the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (www.nabco.org), is another excellent information source. Their Resources section has excellent fact sheets, and the Support Groups area includes links to local support groups. Beth Israel Medical Center's breast cancer page at www.wehealnewyork.org/services/breast/index.html is packed with information on diagnosis, treatment, breast reconstruction, and follow-up care. The Maurer Foundation for Breast Health Education (www.maurer-foundation.org) offers detailed information about nutrition and exercise as it relates to breast health. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (www.komen.org) provides ample introductory information.

Clinical Trials

One of the best sources on clinical trials is Center Watch. At www.centerwatch.com/patient/trials/html you will find a list of medical trials. Information on the medical centers providing the trials can be found at www.centerwatch.com/proflist.htm, and a list of newly approved FDA drugs is available at www.centerwatch.com/drugs/druglist.htm. OncoLink and NIH also have clinical trial information, at http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/clinical_trials and http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov/. You can search specifically for breast cancer clinical trials at http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/trialssrch.shtml.

Gaining Inspiration

If you or someone you love is dealing with breast cancer, you need more than information. You need inspiration and support. Family, friends, and church groups are a good anchor, but you will also want to talk with those who have battled and conquered this disease.

Support

Even if you have health insurance, you may need financial assistance to deal with this costly disease. Cancer Care (www.cancercare.org) offers free assistance for people battling any type of cancer. Their services include counseling, emotional support, referrals to support services in your area, financial assistance, professional consultations, and educational services.

The Cancer Hope Network (www.cancerhopenetwork.org) matches cancer patients with trained volunteers who have gone through similar experiences. Their services are free and confidential, and open to all those suffering with cancer and their families.

Mothers Supporting Daughters With Breast Cancer (MSDBC) (www.azstarnet.com/~pud/msdbc/) was founded in 1995 by a mother-daughter pair, Charmayne Dierker and Lillie Shockney. They provide free resources and one-on-one worldwide support to anyone affected with breast cancer. And OncoLink is again a good place to look for support, at www.oncolink.upenn.edu/psychosocial.

Yvona Fast writes on health issues from Rochester, New York.