Cancer Is Hard
But Getting the Information You Need Shouldn’t Be
We live in a time in which information has never been so easy to share and access — anyone can post information about anything online. The downside of this is that it’s also easy to feel overwhelmed by all the information available. Weoften discover conflicting info and it can be difficult to determine which sources you can trust.
Having a dependable source of information that you can easily access and understand is critically important with today’s information overload. This is especially true when you, or someone you care about, has been diagnosed with cancer. Access to relevant, trustworthy information on cancer has been identified as one of the most crucial needs of people entering Canada’s cancer care system.
It’s not hard to understand why. Living with cancer is often about dealing with the unknown and the unexpected. During this experience, knowledge can be incredibly empowering. It can help people cope with cancer by reducing confusion and alleviating anxiety and fear while helping patients and caregivers make important decisions about treatment and care.
Unfortunately, people don’t always know where to turn for credible, clear, and up-to-date information about cancer.
This is where organizations like the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) can help. CCS has been a trusted source of information on cancer for more than 80 years. We have information on more than 100 types of cancer and for every stage of a cancer journey. The information we provide through our website and booklets is: • written in clear, easy-to-under
stand language • evidence-based and reflective of current Canadian clinical practice • reviewed for accuracy by
cancer care experts • updated regularly to
ensure relevance
Through our Cancer Information Service, information specialists are also available to answer many questions related to cancer. They can provide help in over 150 languages through an interpreter service, and the service is free and confidential.
With nearly one in two Canadians expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, the importance of having access to dependable sources of information on cancer has never been greater. While written information and information services are not intended to replace the care and expertise of a health care provider, they can help inform and support people facing cancer and their loved ones or caregivers, at any point in their experience.