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Information about cancer
is available in libraries, on the Internet, and from many
Government and private sector organizations. Most libraries have resources
to help people
locate
cancer-related
articles in
the medical and scientific literature, as well as
cancer
information written specifically for patients and the public. Information
may also be accessed
through
the Internet using a computer, and many libraries offer public access to
computers.
The
Internet is a worldwide system of computer networks containing information
on a
wide
variety of subjects, including
cancer. Internet
users can find information through the World
Wide Web
(WWW) and electronic mail (e-mail). The WWW allows access to information
that
Key
Points
• The
National Cancer
Institute’s Web site, http://www.cancer.gov,
provides access to
information about cancer
(see the National Cancer
Institute section).
• The
National Library of Medicine is the world’s largest medical library. It is
open to
the
public, and its databases can be accessed on the Internet (see The National
Library
of Medicine section).
•
Cancer
information is also available through the National Network of Libraries of
Medicine
and on the Healthfinder Web site (see the National Network of Libraries of
Medicine
and Healthfinder sections).
• Books
and articles
about cancer
can be found in public, university, hospital, and
medical
school libraries (see the Public, University, and Medical Libraries
section).
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may
include text and graphics or text only. E-mail can be used to order
documents and
communicate with people who can answer questions and offer technical
support.
National Cancer
Institute
The
National Cancer
Institute’s (NCI) Web site, http://www.cancer.gov,
is a one-stop
resource
for cancer
information. This Web site provides immediate access to critical information
and
resources about cancer,
helping people with
cancer become better informed about their
disease
and play a more active role in their treatment and care. The site’s
information is
logically arranged by topic, and a search function allows convenient
text-word searching across
all NCI
Web pages. Search results often include “Best Bets” at the top of the search
results
pages.
Best Bets are editorially selected Web pages that are judged to be most
pertinent to the
search
term(s) used. NCI’s Web site is a comprehensive resource that enables users
to quickly
find
accurate and up-to-date information about all types of
cancer, clinical
trials (research studies
with
people), research programs, funding opportunities,
cancer
statistics, and the Institute itself.
Many of
the NCI’s cancer
information resources are accessible through the
cancer topics
section
of the Institute’s Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics
on the Internet. This
section
contains information from PDQ®, NCI’s
cancer
information database, including
information about ongoing clinical trials. Over 160 PDQ information
summaries about cancer
treatment, supportive care, screening, prevention, genetics, and
complementary and alternative
medicine
are available. Written by experts and updated regularly, these summaries are
based on
current
standards of care and the latest research. Most of the
cancer
information summaries are
available in both a technical version for health professionals and a
nontechnical version for
patients, their families, and the general public. Many are also available in
Spanish.
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The NLM
allows free access to MEDLINE through PubMed®. PubMed is an
easy-to-use search tool for finding journal
articles of
interest in the health and medical sciences.
It was
developed by the National
Center for Biotechnology Information at the NLM. PubMed
provides
links to the full text of
articles and
other resources at the Web sites of participating
publishers. User registration, a subscription fee, or other fees may be
required to access the full
text of
articles in
some journals. PubMed is also linked to molecular biology databases and to
PubMed
Central, an electronic archive of life sciences journal literature. PubMed
can be found
at
http://pubmed.gov on the Internet.
The NLM
Gateway is another way to access information from the NLM. The NLM
Gateway
is designed to provide an overview of the NLM’s resources, including journal
articles,
books,
serials, audiovisuals, meeting abstracts, databases, and consumer health
information.
This
resource allows users to search several of the NLM’s databases at once.
However, users
may find
that one resource, such as PubMed or MedlinePlus
®
(see
below), has the information
they
need. They may then choose to go to that resource for a more focused search.
The NLM
Gateway
is available at http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov on the Internet.
MedlinePlus is the NLM’s Web site for consumer health information. This site
includes
links to
information on more than 650 health topics, the latest health news, a
medical
encyclopedia, medical dictionaries, databases (including MEDLINE),
interactive health tutorials,
drug
information, directories, organizations, publications, and consumer health
libraries. People
can
access MedlinePlus at http://medlineplus.gov on the Internet.
Loansome
Doc® is an NLM service that allows users to order full-text copies of
articles
found in
MEDLINE. Users must establish an agreement with a library that uses DOCLINE®,
the
NLM’s automated interlibrary loan request and referral system, and register
to use Loansome
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