Deep Water: Making Sense of a Cancer Diagnosis

One daughter’s emotional story of wading into the rising flood of information about her mother’s stage III ovarian cancer diagnosis. The story illustrates the difficult but important role family members can play in helping a loved one make informed cancer treatment decisions, including the possibility of a clinical trial. The story also describes how to contact the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service for knowledgeable, caring, and personalized help in understanding cancer and available resources. NCI’s cancer information specialists are trained to answer cancer-related questions by telephone (1-800-4-CANCER), LiveHelp (https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/livehelp/welcome.asp) instant messaging, and e-mail (http://www.cancer.gov/contact?cid=YTncigov). There is no charge or fee for the service, which is provided in English (http://www.cancer.gov/help?cid=YTncigov) or Spanish (http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/contactenos?cid=YTncigov). You can also visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov?cid=YTncigov .

The storyteller, Cindy Lollar, works in communications at the National Cancer Institute.