By Shona Lam, Librarian, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver.

More information on these resources is available from the BC Cancer Agency Library. Call 604-877-6000 local 2688 or 1-800-663-3333 or visit www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/Library

There is an overwhelming amount of breast cancer information on the Internet. However, the quality of the information varies greatly. Some websites contain valuable, accurate information & some are littered with dangerous inaccuracies. Websites recommended are:

Cancer Website Evaluation Guidelines for Patients
www.impac.com/pdf_zip/lpr01024.pdf
Lists criteria for evaluating websites & provides suggestions on discussing the information you find with your physician.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Care and Treatment of Breast Cancer
www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/158/3/DC1
Provides the Canadian treatment guidelines for diagnosing & treating various types of breast cancer.

Canadian Cancer Society
www.cancer.ca
The GetSupport section has a Services Directory which lets you search for cancer-related organizations, services and support groups in your postal code area.

Canadian Breast Cancer Network
www.cbcn.ca
Includes the CBCN Resource & Support Database which provides unique information links such as: Resources in Other Languages and a Younger Women's Section.

Medlineplus - Breast Cancer
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/breastcancer.html
Organizes reliable breast cancer websites by topic such as anatomy/physiology, nutrition & genetics. Left-hand side of the website lets you search for references to recent research articles using the medical database, Medline.

Cancer.gov - Breast Cancer
http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/types/breast
Contains information on treatment, prevention, screening & testing. There are also sections on Research & Clinical Trials which summarizes recent breast cancer clinical trials and research.

For more breast cancer-related websites, visit
BC Cancer Agency Library 's Recommended Links
www.bccancer.bc.ca
Click on "Recommended Links", then "Cancer-related websites" then "Breast". The site also contains extensive information on all aspects of cancer and treatments.