By ecancer reporter Jo Armstrong

A roundtable of ECCO's patient advisory committee was convened at this year's ESMO conference in Milan to discuss the impact and utilisation of new media to provide cancer information to patients and their families.

The panel of advocates, representing patients with leukaemias, brain tumours, breast cancer, men's cancers, childhood cancer and myeloma, discussed the impact that media has had on cancer communication and how this could evolve further.

Media has long been recognised as a way of increasing awareness and providing important updates on new and alternative treatments for cancer, coping with the disease and its treatment and offering longer term support for survivors. It now goes well beyond radio, TV and press, with many advocacy groups offering websites that provide information and support. Although a small groups of patients will still need alternative forms of information provision, the advantage of a web-based forum is steadily increasing, with the ability to reach and connect with a large worldwide audience. This has been particularly important for rare cancers.

The success of any web-based media tool is based on imparting up to date, accurate and validated information, which requires constant renewal. In addition, it needs to communicate in simple, easy to read language, offer multilingual options and avoid confounding the reader or user with complicated clinical terminology. In this way it can satisfy all audiences and levels of need. The internet can also be a vital resource for patients disabled by their cancer and unable to get out of the home.

Information on cancer directed at patients not only informs but reassures. Many are overwhelmed with their diagnosis and the realisation that they are not alone and can communicate with support groups is vital.

Web-based tools can also be useful in providing individual feedback on newer treatments, which can then be used with clinicians or even politicians to promote the wider use and availability of effective therapies.

All forms of media sources are useful, whether they be derived directly from the clinician or researcher, or are relayed by the press. Sensationalism has a role to play as it can bring up to date information on new therapies into the public domain and highlight the plight of many patients unable to get the best treatments. However, the realistic side of cancer must be reported. In order to do this, patient advocacy groups need to continue to work with the press media to ensure their reports are accurate and provide a true portrayal.

For the future, a quality assured, independent and rated site that provides a unifying portal of information for all cancer sufferers would be a step forward. Within this site, links to relevant and reliable websites for each cancer type would be essential. Information would need to be succinct, easy to use, presented in an attractive format, and appeal to a wide audience. Contributions from all members of the cancer community, whether they be clinicians, patients, survivors or caregivers, will be key.