Alexandria, VA — The American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) award-winning patient website, People Living With Cancer (www.PLWC.org), in collaboration with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and CancerCare, will host a live question-and-answer chat on:

Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Cancer
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
2:00 to 3:00 pm ET
Hosted by Stephen E. Straus, MD.

Dr. Straus will discuss types of complementary and alternative medicine; their use in treating cancer, managing treatment side effects, and addressing quality of life issues; and provide recommendations for finding reliable information about complementary and alternative medicine.

Dr. Straus is Director of NCCAM, a physician, and an internationally recognized expert in clinical research and clinical trials. NCCAM is currently funding several studies on complementary and alternative medicine for cancer prevention and treatment.

Launched in May 2002, People Living With Cancer (www.PLWC.org) provides accurate and timely information to help people make informed health-care decisions. The site provides content that has been reviewed and approved by leading oncologists and patient advocates. Resources available on the site include a physician database, treatment guidelines, and research abstracts from ASCO’s Annual Meetings.

Recent PLWC Features include articles on “What to Say When Your Child has Cancer,” and “Late Effects of Childhood Cancer,” as well as spotlights on Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month, Prostate Health Month, and Prostate Cancer Awareness Week.

Future online chats will feature:

Breast Cancer
Thursday, October 16
2:00 to 3:00 pm ET
Hosted by Lynn Schuchter, MD; Mark Kris, MD; and Diane Blum, MSW, and Deane L. Wolcott, MD. Dr. Schuchter, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Lung Cancer
Wednesday, November 5
2:00 to 3:00 pm ET
Hosted by Dr. Kris, Chief of Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Coping with Cancer during the Holidays
Tuesday, December 2
2:00 to 3:00 pm ET
Hosted by Ms. Blum, Executive Director of CancerCare, and Dr. Wolcott, Vice President of Clinical Systems and Knowledge Management for Salick Health Care

The full schedule of online chats and transcripts of past events are available at www.PLWC.org.

To receive the PLWC Bulletin, a biweekly e-newsletter that highlights upcoming events and newsworthy topics for people in the cancer community, register at www.PLWC.org or send an e-mail to: contactus@plwc.org.

NCCAM, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary and alternative medicine researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals.

CancerCare is dedicated to helping people face the many challenges of a cancer diagnosis and provides free professional support services including counseling, education, financial assistance, and practical help to people across the country. CancerCare is the oldest and largest national nonprofit agency devoted to offering professional services and has helped more than two million people nationwide through its toll-free Counseling Line and Telephone Education Workshop programs, its office-based services, and via the Internet.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world’s leading professional society of multidisciplinary medical professionals who treat people with cancer. ASCO’s more than 20,000 members from the U.S. and abroad set the standard for patient care worldwide and lead the fight for more effective cancer treatments, increased funding for clinical and translational research, and, ultimately, cures for the many different cancers that strike 1.3 million Americans every year. In addition to the PLWC website, ASCO publishes the semi-monthly "Journal of Clinical Oncology" (JCO), the preeminent, peer-reviewed medical journal focusing on clinical cancer research.