Breast cancer Resources

Timely if You Have the Time
Magazines carry the most up-to-the-minute information, but you may spend hours
searching before you find something worth reading. If you have the time, however,
check your library’s periodical index (it may be online, on CD-ROM, or in print), but
consider the same advice we gave previously: Anything
more than a couple of years old is probably too old to
be meaningful. And anything really vital that is older
than that will be in the newest books as well.
Bookstore Shelves
If your library lacks recent titles, your next stop should
be your local bookstore. Usually, the books on women’s
health are categorized by type, so look for the section
on breast cancer. If the section isn’t obvious, ask.
Before you take home any book, browse through it.
Study the table of contents. Check the index. Do you
find there are topics about which you have questions?
Then skim a chapter. Does it answer your questions?
Does it footnote its sources so you can read more about
a specific issue that interests you? Does it have a tone
and style that you find easy to read, or at least acces-
sible?
Books from Dot Com
If you don’t find what you need in your local bookstore, or if you live in a commu-
nity too small to offer adequate selections, turn to the Internet. Visit online book-
stores like Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble at bn.com. Their online search engines
will retrieve relevant titles.
Web Site Browsing
Another way to access current information is through the Internet. If you’re afraid
you’ll get tangled in the Web, now’s the time to overcome your fears. And before you
cry that you don’t have access to the Web, remember that most public libraries offer
access, friends will likely let you browse, public schools sometimes let community
members log on, and state universities usually allow community members access to
their facilities (after all, you paid for it).
Yes, I know the Internet can be daunting. Your frustration level is fairly high right
now anyway, and we don’t want a Web search to reduce you to tears. So consider this
advice:
First, check known Web sites. We’ve listed a bundle of them in Appendix E, but our
top 20 are the following, arranged in alphabetical order. Most of them have links to
other good sites as well.
➤ American Cancer Society offers information, outreach, and policy statements at
www.cancer.org.
➤ American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Network offers information and out-
reach at www.cancer.org/bcn/bcn.html.
➤ American Society of Plastic Surgeons offers information and resources at www.
plasticsurgery.org.
➤ Association of Cancer Online Resources offers information at www.acor.org/.
➤ Breast Cancer Action offers information and support from a grassroots group
at www.med.Stanford.edu/bca.
➤ Breast Cancer Answers offers information and details about clinical trials at
www.medsch.wisc.edu/bca.
➤ Breast Cancer Information offers information at www.breastcancerinfo.com/.
➤ Cancer Care Inc. offers information, support, and outreach at www.
cancercareinc.org/.
➤ Department of Defense Breast Cancer Decision Guide offers an online guide for
making informed decisions at www.bcdg.com.
➤ Johns Hopkins Hospital offers information and resources at www.hopkins.
med.jhu.edu.
➤ Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation offers information at www.komen.org.
➤ Mayo Clinic offers information at www.mayo.edu.
➤ MD Anderson Cancer Center offers information at www.mdanderson.org.
➤ Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center offers information at www.mskcc.org.
➤ National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO) offers information at
www.nabco.org.
➤ National Cancer Institute’s CancerNet Information Service offers information spe-
cific to breast cancer at cancernet.nci.nih.gov/cancer_types/ breast_cancer.shtml.
➤ National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine details alternative
treatments at nccam.nih.gov.
➤ National Library of Medicine’s Medline Plus offers information and news at
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/.
➤ Webmed offers detailed medical information, some of which is accessible by lay
people, at webmed.org.
➤ Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization offers information and support at
www.y-me.org.
While you’re browsing, keep your notebook handy. As you scroll and click your way
through the sites, you’ll eventually forget where you read something important. If
you’ve taken notes on the Web site addresses, you’ll be able to jump right back to that