[Cancer information for the public and for health personnel]

The increasing amount of knowledge about all aspects of cancer needs to be communicated to both health personnel and patients. In the United Kingdom and the USA information centers have been established. The Cancer Information Service in the US, funded by the National Cancer Institute and the British Association of Cancer United Patients (BACUP) funded by the Cancer Research Campaign provide telephone and mail service. The Information Centers offer counseling, general cancer information and information on treatment options and clinical trials. Health personnel can subscribe to a monthly updated Physician Desk Query (PDQ) with information on more than 75 different cancers, staging, treatments, prognosis, clinical trials and treatment centers. Evaluations in the US and UK have shown high satisfaction with the Information Services.