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Just in time to celebrate its 18th anniversary, OncoLink®, a free cancer information website developed by experts at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center has launched a redesigned website based on the search habits and feedback from patients, caregivers and health care providers who use the site.

Enhanced, interactive features provide access to the most up-to-date information on all types of cancer allows users to develop personalized survivorship plans and review the latest cancer research more easily.

Recent changes to the site include enhanced interactive tools for patients, including:

• What's My Risk: A program designed to help users learn about factors that determine their personal risk of many types of cancer and what they can do to decrease that risk.
• LIVESTRONG® Care Plan: Online tool that provides cancer survivors, their family members or their health care provider with an easy-to-follow roadmap for managing their health as they finish treatment and transition to life as a cancer survivor.
• Clinical Trials Matching Service: A search tool that helps patients quickly learn about and evaluate research studies across the nation for which they may be eligible. A telephone matching service is also available.

The new site also offers a comprehensive section for healthcare professional, which includes:

• Nurses Notes: Resources for nurses including patient handouts, newsletters and practice information.
• Patient Education Center: Free handouts covering side effects, medications and procedures.
• Conferences: Coverage of the annual scientific meetings of the oncology societies, and a calendar of global cancer-related meetings.
• OncoLink University: Teaching guides for students at all levels and a core oncology-related course for medical students entitled MD2B.

Take a tour of the new and improved Oncolink.

Carolyn Vachani, RN, MSN, AOCN, is a nurse educator for OncoLink®, an award-winning cancer information website sponsored by Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. She is an oncology advanced practice nurse and has worked in the areas of medical hematology and oncology, bone marrow transplant, clinical research, radiation therapy and staff development.

Carolyn Vachani, RN, MSN, AOCN

In my time as an oncology nurse, I have sat with many families who were processing a loved one’s new cancer diagnosis. No matter the scenario, the questions are similar:

• How did this happen?
• What caused this?
• What do I do now?

People want to know their own cancer risk.

Friends and family rally around the patient, helping with meals, transportation and childcare. At the same time, many are also thinking: “Why my friend and not me?” It is only natural to think about one’s own mortality when a friend is faced with a cancer diagnosis.

What’s My Risk? is a comprehensive cancer risk tool at OncoLink designed to help individuals learn about the factors that determine their personal cancer risk and what they can do to decrease that risk. By completing a detailed questionnaire about their habits, lifestyle and health history, the program identifies their risk for cancer by creating a detailed report. The report includes information about each risk factor, how it affects cancer risk and resources to change those factors that can be changed.

Some good can come from a family member or friend being diagnosed with cancer. In the medical community, it is called a “teachable moment.” It is that time when a person is so affected by their loved one’s diagnosis that they vow, whether publicly or privately, to make changes in their life to reduce their risk of being in a similar situation. Maybe they’ll start exercising, make a diet change or quit smoking. So at this moment in time when they are most open to making changes, how do they know where to start? Do they really know what habits increase their cancer risk or how to go about changing them?

What’s My Risk? is a “teachable moment;” a chance to live healthier and reduce cancer risk.