The wild, wild Web: resources for counseling patients with prostate cancer in the information age

The increasing public awareness of prostate cancer coincides with a growing desire for patients to be better informed about their disease and treatment options. As technology advances, access to information about prostate cancer also expands. Publications, videos, interactive CD-ROMs, support groups, and the Internet are redefining how patients and their physicians interact to make decisions. As an example of the impact of technology on the practice of medicine, it is estimated that there are more than 70,000 health care-related Web sites. Although on the surface access to this information appears to be a benefit, it can often lead to more confusion and anxiety because much of the information can be conflicting. This is more likely to occur in a disease such as prostate cancer where there is no consensus of opinion concerning the management of localized disease. This article reviews the expanding array of technologies and resources, including the Internet, available to patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. With this vast amount of information readily available to the patient, the role of the physician in the interpretation of the data as it relates to the individual patient remains an essential part of health care in the information age.