The Internet can be a good source of information on breast cancer. Within a few minutes, you can get information on the latest breast cancer research, find a clinical trial or confirm that a surgeon is board certified. And every day, more information becomes available.
While the large amount of breast cancer information on the Internet is a good thing, there is one important drawback - the often unknown reliability of the information. Because anyone today can put together a website on breast cancer, there is no guarantee that the information on a site is correct.
So how can you be sure you're getting the best information possible? Outside of a website referral from a trusted source, the best way to be sure that the content of a site is correct and up-to-date is to rely on a few well-known, trusted websites. These include federal government sites (such as the National Cancer Institute's www.cancer.gov), large university sites and established health organization sites (such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure®'s www.komen.org and the American Cancer Society's www.cancer.org). Of course, other websites can provide good information, but these few trusted sites are often the best places to begin a search for information.
When searching for breast cancer information on the Internet, most people use the World Wide Web or web browsers. On the web, there are two main ways to find information. One is to search by topic. Someone looking for information on support groups can search by using the words "breast cancer support groups”. If this gives too many results, the search can be narrowed by adding more specific words. Adding "Dallas" should call up sites with support groups in Dallas. Adding "survivor" should call up sites for support groups focusing on survivors.
Another way to search the web is by specific name. Most organizations and government agencies have their own websites. If you are looking for information from the National Cancer Institute, for example, type in "National Cancer Institute". This should call up the organization's website and give you access to all of their online information.
Often, you do not have to search the web if you are given the "address" of a website (also called the URL, for uniform resource locator). By typing in the web address on the "address" line of the browser, the browser will link to the site. For example, typing in the National Cancer Institute's web address "www.cancer.gov" will link directly to the NCI website.
Learning to use the web takes a little time. There is so much information available that, for most people, it takes some practice to develop the skills required to find the information they need. Local libraries, colleges and adult education centers can help people new to computers get started on the web and learn the basics of buying computer equipment and searching for information.
Updated 01/30/09
