Contact: Jennifer Ingersoll (215) 349-5657

June, 1996

OncoLink© Puts Vital Cancer Information On Line

http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu

Ask a question about cancer. Any question at all. Chances are the answer is just a few keystrokes away on OncoLink, the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center's comprehensive cancer information data base that's available on the Internet's World Wide Web.

• Want to know when the American Cancer Society's national meeting on Colorectal Cancer is? Just check the "Meetings" or "Keeping Posted" sections of OncoLink.
• Discuss the methods for diagnosing H. pylori gastritis;
• Interested in a support group on prostate cancer? There's a discussion group you can subscribe to via OncoLink.
• Or how about admiring some touching illustrations penned -- or "crayoned," as the case may be -- by young cancer patients? OncoLink has that, too. The artwork can be viewed, even printed, on a desktop printer.

Indeed, over 30,000 times a day, someone taps into these and other sources of information available on OncoLink. Established on March 7, 1994, the service is one of the first -- and certainly one of the most comprehensive -- multi-media cancer information resources available to a wide audience. Anyone with a personal computer, modem, and Internet-access software can gain access to OncoLink.

"There is a remarkable, and growing, interest in this kind of information," says Joel W. Goldwein, MD, associate professor of Radiation Oncology, and a founder of OncoLink. Goldwein shares co-editor responsibilities for OncoLink with Ivor Benjamin, MD, assistant professor of Gynecologic Oncology. "When someone is diagnosed with cancer their first reaction, after shock, is to seek information. OncoLink strives to be that source of information."

Notes Dr. Benjamin: "OncoLink provides a focus for people, minimizing confusion in their search for information they can use."

The information on OncoLink has made a difference in people's lives. Yolanda Lewis, a 26-year-old computer programmer from Camp Springs, Md., used OncoLink to obtain information about cervical cancer when she thought she was a victim of that disease. "OncoLink helped me talk to my clinician," she says. "It helped me be in charge of my own health care."

All of the information that appears on OncoLink undergoes a review process designed to ensure the accuracy of the medical content. The editorial staff comprises physicians and scientists from the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center.

Simple, "Point and Click" Operation

OncoLink is designed to work with simple, easy-to-follow graphics and instructions. Someone using Internet-access software (Mosaic or Netscape, for example), can log on to OncoLink by entering the following URL address: http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu . Then, using their computer mouse, trackball, or other pointing device, they can look up a plethora of information, including:

• What's New -- new sources of information in OncoLink, including meeting announcements, opportunities to subscribe to periodicals, and all other data that has recently been added to OncoLink.
• Cancer News -- a roundup of stories that have appeared in trade publications and general news publications about cancer.
• Meetings -- announcements of dates and places for private, public, and academic gatherings.
• Peer-Reviewed Journals -- connections to on-line, peer-reviewed cancer journals.

Readers of OncoLink can get into each section by moving the pointing device to the appropriate spot and clicking the mouse control key.

OncoLink has been recognized for its unique contribution. It has already won many awards, including a 4-Star rating from McKinleyM-Us Internet Directory Magellan; the Lycos 250 award for being one of the 250 most popular sites on the Internet; and an award as a 1995 Finalist in the National Information Infrastructure Awards.

The University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center is one of only 26 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States approved and designated by the National Cancer Institute. The Cancer Center has more than 300 full-time members dedicated to patient care, cancer research, and the education of health care professionals.