The explosion of good information available to cancer patients on the Internet has been a Godsend. Those patients who wish to take charge of their healing program by addressing the problem of ignorance now have the tools to do so. A highly personalized information gathering system can be tailored to the individual. The medical community must now reckon with a better-educated and informed populace than has ever been the case in world history.

Recommended Websites

Smart Patients is a mirage in the desert for Cancer Patients seeking the help and information from other cancer patients struggling with treatments, side effects or simply understanding from other patients dealing with cancer.

This widely acclaimed site is the brainchild of founder, Steve Dunn, himself a recovered kidney cancer patient. Written in layman’s language, this fascinating website allows the patient to follow an up to date information highway that leads from insightful knowledge about the occurrence and nature of many cancers, through the meanings behind the various treatment protocols and is replete with inspirational patient stories. Steve was a master wit and his untimely death from another cause was a great loss.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of 11 agencies that compose the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NCI, established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, is the Federal Government’s principal agency for cancer research and training. The National Cancer Act of 1971 broadened the scope and responsibilities of the NCI and created the National Cancer Program. Over the years, legislative amendments have maintained the NCI authorities and responsibilities and added new information dissemination mandates as well as a requirement to assess the incorporation of state-of-the-art cancer treatments into clinical practice.