Finding Health Information With a Computer

<BODY BACKGROUND="FF9900" COLOR="FF9900"> NOTE: This is a frame enhanced page. Best viewed in a web browser that supports frames (e.g. Netscape or Internet Explorer). <HR> <H1><CENTER>Finding Health Information With a Computer</CENTER></H1> <HR> <H2>Table of Contents</H2> <H4>Select a slide or start at the <A HREF="fslide1.html">beginning</A>.</H4> <UL> <LI><A HREF="fslide1.html">Finding Health Information With a Computer</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide2.html">There is no single administrator of the internet, although more and more groups that use the internet are setting up their own regulators as needs develop.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide3.html">To access the voluminous amount of information out there, bringing it right into your own home, you need a computer with Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows 2000, a modem to connect to your telephone, and software, the programs required to run your computer over the internet.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide4.html">These programs (such as browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer, separate e-mail packages like Juno, Eudora, Pegasus, Outloook Express, newsgroup readers like Free Agent, are all free). You use a browser (like Netscape) to get the others.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide5.html">Who PAYS for it?</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide6.html">AOL does some of the thinking for you and you pick the choices they offer to you when you connect (and there are many). An ISP lets you do all your thinking, decide what and where to apply it, and more quickly jump around. Beginners (“newbies”) often migrate from AOL to ISP’s.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide7.html">If you want more than just a few hours of usage per month the ISPs can be cheaper with their unlimited services, which are under $200 for a one-year contract. Or for that matter, you can even get this stuff free, subject to periodic commercial reminders on your computer screen.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide8.html">So just what are some ways to get at that information out there?</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide9.html">Start with a free e-mail program such as Juno (1-800-654-5866) and let sublimal advertising pay for it.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide10.html">popular also for its many other features.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide11.html">With e-mail alone you can get tons of information, not only just by making inquiries. This is done by subscribing to a mailing list, again at no cost..</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide12.html">When using e-mail, you refer to the e-mail address of the destination, in the form of username@domain. For example, some addresses might be johndoe@aol.com and pauls@cpcug.org, in which johndoe and pauls are the username, aol.com and cpcug.org are the domains, respectively.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide13.html">The feature of a mailing list is that you send one message to the “address” of the mailing list, and everyone who is subscribed gets the message. That way you can contact many people at once with a minimum of effort.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide14.html">The real hullabaloo about the Internet is when using the Wide World Web (WWW) with its color video and sound. The WWW is thought of as a gargantuan criss-crossing network of communication facilities.,somewhat resembling a spider’s web. Its like having a TV remote control with a seemingly infinite number of channels.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide15.html">Instead of e-mail-like addresses, the Web has an addressing structure of its very own. An address on the Web is referred to as an URL. A typical URL might be</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide16.html"> Another more personal free home page that I use is at www.geocities.com/paul2711</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide17.html">URL’s listed here are in no particular order, everyone has their individual preferences. Only a small sample is included. You will find better ones.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide18.html">A URL to show some local doctors http://www.suburbanhospital.org</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide19.html">The site at http://www.medscape.com</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide20.html">What clinical trials are going on? By whom?</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide21.html">For a series of links to many medical sources, including an “AMA Physician Select” list of doctors, connect to </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide22.html">http://www.4physicians.com </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide23.html">It would be next to impossible for me to prioritize which web sites to first examine, so I will continue to just list a few useful ones that I have come across. “Few” is getting to encompass more and more these days.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide24.html">http://rattler.cameron.edu/cmyers for information provided by Dr. Charles Myers, a medical oncologist.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide25.html">http://rattler.cameronedu/www </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide26.html">http://rattler.cameron.edu/prostate/leibowitz </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide27.html">The search engine is a program that asks what words or phrases are being sought. Once you click on a the search request identifier, called a button, usually labeled with something like “Search?” or “Search Now?”, literally millions of searches are conducted at blinding speeds (often less than a minute), and a list of possible links displayed a few at a time. Its important to narrow the</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide28.html">A Mailing List is a free service where information is sent directly by e-mail to you. Start by subscribing to a mailing list. This is a process by which once subscribed, every member of the list gets every message sent by any member of the list; and any member is free to respond to all or individual members in private, such as it is on the internet.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide29.html">There are thousands of Mailing Lists to choose from. By going to the web site at www.listserv.org you will encounter a such a large list of Lists.. There is a search option there for you to see the names of lists pertaining to subjects of interest. Pick out a disease or ailment and you may find a List there. Many are quite worth pursuing, others much less so. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide30.html">A short trial period will educate you in a hurry on the differences. You can almost as quickly unsubscribe to a mailing list as you had subscribed, subject only to the efficiency of your e-mail delivery service. Joining (subscribing) a list can be invaluable.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide31.html">It is important to learn how to unsubscribe when you subscribe because you may want to cut off the flow of undesirable material, or just go away on a vacation. When you unsubscribe you are just getting your name off of the list. It is easy to start it up again; many Lists let you just suspend the mail.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide32.html">Some prostate cancer Mailing Lists you might want to consider are:</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide33.html">The PPML (the Prostate Problems Mailing list)</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide34.html">The PHML (the Prostate-Help Mailing list)</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide35.html">The Circle Mailing list</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide36.html">The Cancer-Net Mailing list. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide37.html">The PPML is for discussions of prostate cancer concerns. Topics revolve about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and alternatives. This is the list that I have used just about daily, almost from the day of my cancer diagnosis in 1996 when as a computer-addict I did not know where else to turn for help.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide38.html">The PHML is sort of a spin-off of the PPML, in that some disgruntled contributors wanted to branch out on their own without the censorship they had been encountering. They took their highly useful expertise with them, and have even spun off another mailing list to cover more advanced prostate cancer topic; the Nevada moderator of this list had a PSA of over 1400 ng/ml and is active in his communit</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide39.html">An interesting aspect of this list is that medical oncologist Dr. Charles Myers of the University of Virginia participates as a patient as well as doctor after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999. Like so many before him, he has an interesting story to tell and does so on the internet at his web site http://www.prostateforum.com/sample.htm which is recommended reading. I saw Dr. Myers giv</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide40.html">Other mailing lists include p2p, a physician to patient list where one can enlist the aid, via e-mail, of doctors current on prostate cancer treatment. They have a home page including abstracts of all their messages since they began in 1997. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide41.html">Not offered as a substitute for direct physician contact, the information is available as a supplement to your prostate cancer information needs until you can coordinate with your own doctors. Only a few subsidized doctors participate in this mailing list, mostly medical oncologists who can often point you in a proper direction. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide42.html">This has the advantage that you can tap their expertise, but the disadvantage that so few doctors participate that multiple viewpoints are difficult to come by and diverse medical opinions not often expressed. We know that in reallity medical opinions vary across the board.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide43.html">As you subscribe to mailing lists more relevant to your own concerns, you will get involved with the personalities of the individuals who both administer the lists and those who contribute the interesting content, the patient and the provider.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide44.html">A few other prostate cancer mailing lists of possible interest:</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide45.html">Iceballs dealing with all aspects of cryosurgery, and</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide46.html">SeedPods dealing with brachyterapy (irradiated seed implants)</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide47.html">Always bear in mind that the internet is a very public forum and contributors are not necessarily qualified to make the statements they make. They are not required to demonstrate any medical credentials.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide48.html">You must personally decide whether the information you acquire is reliable or pure hog-wash. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide49.html">Patients in their initial desperation may be prone to accept as gospel whatever they read, including material by lay-people, patients such as you and I, who may toss around medical concepts and phrases that give the appearance of authority and positive knowledge. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide50.html">Patients’ contributions are derive from their direct experiences, to the extent that they properly express themselves. It is not unusual for patients to give disclaimers to this effect in their e-mail on the mailing lists so as not to mislead their readers; but, please, by all means, do not let these caveats discourage you from using the increasingly useful resources permitted by the internet.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide51.html">Once you subscribe to a Mailing List you will sooner or later be referred to other Mailing Lists; speed up the process by just asking for what you want; instead of waiting and hoping that someone else will ask your question. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide52.html">Another type of information source is newsgroups, which are organized by topics of interest. Here you use a newsreader program just to look at the contents of the messages contained in a Group. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide53.html">Unlike mailing lists where things are done by e-mail automatically once you subscribe, with news groups you must seek out the group whose messages you want to peruse. You can then write e-mail to individuals or the whole group.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide54.html">Some prostate cancer newsgroups:</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide55.html">alt.support.cancer.prostate</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide56.html">science.med.prostate.bph</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide57.html">science.med.prostate.cancer</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide58.html">science.med.prostate.prostatitis</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide59.html">There are computer programs (free!) for accessing Newsgroups, and they can even be accessed from the popular Microsoft Internet Explorer and AOL Netscape Browsers.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide60.html">Then there are the Library sources of health information in the local area. Use your computer to contact the Montgomery County Libraries at 301-217-3906. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide61.html">Use communications software such as hyperterm with Windows 95 and 98, ProComm, Q-Modem, etc. The County’s computer program accessed this way is rather primitive these days, but it works. </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide62.html">You can also find which libraries currently have a book of your choice. Furthermore, when you go into a library itself, you then use the index number for prostate cancer, which has the prefix 616 and head directly for the stacks with that number as a prefix. Learning the prefix for other health topics can simplify your searching at the library.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide63.html">Another way in Montgomery County is to just use the computers they have there to identify books on hand, those in other libraries (which you can directly request books from to be sent to your local library), or for that matter, use the computers in your closest library to access the web and all the things we are discussing today.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide64.html">A great source of information is the National Library of Medicine, of national repute, which you can visit directly</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide65.html">http://www.nlm.nih.gov</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide66.html">They have a few computers there to facilitate your searches. Consider taking the free NIH shuttle bus from various parking lots (like the one at the northeast corner of the MidPike Shopping Center in Rockville) to avoid the auto parking (and fee) hassle.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide67.html">As if the above wasn’t enough, there are newspapers galore that you can read by computer, many with health information or special health sections. Look at</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide68.html">to choose from among 5000 newspapers worldwide! If that is too much look at try the list of 100 U.S. ones at</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide69.html">http://www.interest.com/top100.html </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide70.html">Conclusion</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide71.html">The techniques discussed should help you really get involved in managing your own health care (or help someone) with sources of information unimaginable until the close of the twentieth century.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide72.html">I was queried about childhood-onset diabetes, a phrase as mysterious to me as prostate cancer was four years ago. (A grand-niece twin was diagnosed with diabetes at age five.) </A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide73.html">I was able, using the URL at dejanews.com to quickly and quite directly locate newsgroups and information that I wanted to know (such as what Type 1 diabetes is. Examine the web site at</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide74.html">www.childrenwithdiabetes.com</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide75.html">the uppermost tip of a gigantic mountain of information on the subject.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide76.html">Increasingly health organizations and professionals are establishing public presences on the internet (the Web). Many are easily accessible. Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, particularly the younger ones, are getting tuned in to the vast resources. With hardly the stomach for it as a non-medical type, I was able to watch a (recorded multimedia, video and sound) a cryosurgical see</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide77.html">http://www.healthstreaminc.com/endocare/</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide78.html"> I struggled through it because of my astonishment at the technology that we now have available. Looking at the bloody gloved hands of the doctor was upsetting to a novice; I endured it just to see what the methodology was all about. It starts with use of a cystoscope and details insertion of seeds and the wires to do it; and it goes on and on! Brrr. Its good we have the medical profession.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide79.html">So there you have it, a very brief introduction as to what kind of information and where some of it can be found by means of a personal computer. With the precise locations of some of these places listed here, you can in time broaden your scope of investigation. It won’t take you long to begin tracking down areas of concern.</A> <BR><LI><A HREF="fslide80.html">Paul Shapiro is a member of the Suburban Hospital Prostate Cancer Support Group as moderated by Facilitator Susan Jacobstein, LCSW and Facilitator Susan Abrams, LCSW. He is a retired mathematician (Goddard Space Flight Center). In mid-summer of 1996, at age 70, with a PSA of 7.6 ng/ml he was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, a Gleason rating of 4+4=8. He underwent eight weeks of 3D conformal high do</A> </UL> <P> <H6><HR> <CENTER>Back to <A HREF="http://geocities.com/paul2711/" TARGET="_blank">Home Page</A></CENTER> <CENTER><A HREF="mailto:pauls@cpcug.org">Comments or Questions?</A></CENTER> <CENTER><I>Last update: 4/1/00</I></CENTER> </H6> </BODY>