Stanford Report, February 8, 2006

Revamped Web site provides thorough coverage of Stanford cancer work from bench to bedside

Need to find the latest clinical trial? Or just directions? It's only a click away

BY BY PAM LOWNEY

The Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center launched a completely revamped Web site (http://cancer.stanford.edu) on Jan. 30, reflecting the thorough integration of cancer research and clinical medicine across the medical center. The debut came just as the final "i's"were being dotted in the center's bid to win official recognition from the National Cancer Institute.

The site serves a number of primary audiences, including patients, health-care providers, the academic research community, prospective students and donors. It provides online access to the cancer center's far-ranging patient care, research, educational and community outreach programs.

Among its many features are in-depth explanations of the center's diverse clinical enterprises; a search function for finding clinicians and faculty researchers by name, clinical specialty and research keywords; instructions on how to make an appointment; directions to treatment facilities, and streaming videos about the CyberKnife medical technology and other cancer treatment innovations pioneered at Stanford. It also provides a current listing of all cancer clinical trials at Stanford as well as in-depth looks at the latest research in cancer biology, epidemiology and other fields.

The designers made the site easier to navigate by also having disease-specific "dashboard" pages. These organize patient care, research, clinical trial and consumer health information by cancer type.

The new Web site is a joint project of the medical school and Stanford Hospitals & Clinics.