Cancer resources for providers in the rural community

Rural residents with cancer face many challenges--lack of specialized local care, cost, and travel requirements--in receiving high-quality cancer care. Rural physicians, nurses, social workers, and pharmacists have limited resources to provide or coordinate the quality of care needed for these patients. Although resources are sparse, creative collaboration and capitalization on community cohesiveness may provide patients and healthcare professionals with needed resources in rural areas. Transportation for cancer patients, for example, might be obtained through local community organizations. Healthcare professionals may use various national cancer and rural health organizations and Internet sites as resources for updated oncology literature and for information on upcoming oncology conferences and partnerships with urban cancer care providers.