Medical Web Sites and Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. One out of eight women will suffer from breast cancer. The Amercian Cancer Society and many organizations provide information and support form Web sites.

From the Web site of www.cancercure.org comes a creative outreach that understands its target audience, women. It uses pink and other pastel colors to give it a soft look. A calendar lists events such as telephone education workshops and prevention tips. There are lists of Pink Ribbon products. During October, The company From You Flowers will donate 10% of its profits. Support groups are offered to victims of breast cancer.The Web site is informative, easy to navigate, and appeals to women.

During October, many Public Health Clinics have Breast Awareness Programs and Clinics. On the Web page for the Center for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov, is a photograph of two women with overlying graphics, “Breast Cancer.” It has numerous articles and suggestions for the prevention of breast cancer and its treatment. A yearly mammogram is recommended for all women over fifty. Self breast exam is taught and encouraged. Trained oncology social workers will help telephonically or electronically.

The West Virginia State Medical Association’s Web site, www.wvsma.org, is black and white, common to medical web sites. It is easy to navigate and find useful information. It celebrates October Breast Cancer Month and lists clinics for free breast exams and mammograms. Though the Web site targets West Virginia physicians, any visitor will find it easy to navigate. It porvides useful links for non-physicians such as breast health.

An outstanding Web site is www.cancer.org, the Ameican Cancer Society. The red, whte, and blue logo is on each page, and the colors are carried to each page giving it a consistent look. The 1-800-ACS-2345 is listed atop the page indicating a desire to help cancer victims. There are support programs, lists of where to go for care and treatment, and a “Find It fast” menu. It lists programs that celebrate Breast Awareness Month. The Web site is engaging, colorful, helpful, and easy to navigate.

Creative Medical Web Sites

Most medical Web sites lack luster, yet they teem with information. From a medical clinic or hospital come needs to educate patients about side effects of medications or a procedure. Accessing a pharmaceutical Web site will yield patient information packets and articles. A medical association will map out its goals.

A visit to www.wyeth.com takes the physician to the Web site of Wyeth, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The first step is to log in. Before becoming familiar with the web site, the visitor must log in which then provides access to patient information, articles, and access to product information. Once logged in, the visitor will find 3000 pages of a Medical Encyclopedia, thousands of articles and studies, and hundreds of pages to download to give to patients about products such as Primpro and vaccines. A log in is the first step which might deter visitors from this Web site filled with information.

In preparation for a conference on the treatment of vaccine preventable diseases, a physician visited www.cdc.gov, the Web site for the government agency, the Center for Disease Control. The colors are blue and white. In very small print is a list of publications, tools, and resources. A click on “CDC health Protection Goal will provide the visitor with information relevent to vaccines and diseases. Because a large amount of information is on the Web page, the print is small, and the site is cluttered. However, it gives a lot of information and is easy to use.

When a Public Health Physician physicians want to become advacates of preventable diseases, they can join The American Public Health Association at www.aphaorg. The Web site is blue and white, common to medical Web sites, with a list of useful links such as how to join, advocacy, and meetings. though lack luster, it is easy to navigate, join, and become a member of a caring organization. This Web site is like a map. It uses space created by the flow and movement of relational networks.

One of the largest medical Web sites is www.ama.org. The American Medial Association is the largest medical organization in the world. It archives articles from over a hundre years of publication. Though it suffers from information overload, it is easy to find article, how to join, and how to be an advaocate for medicine. It appeals to the intellect of its target audience, physicians.