In this issue
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Creating a world with more birthdays

Q. & A. with Monica Collins

Tom Izzo awarded Coaches vs. Cancer 2009 Champion Award

Meet your researcher: Dr. Paul Helft

Volunteer Richard Jaeger: Gearing up for Michigan Celebration at the State Capitol

Skin Cancer Prevention and Detection Quiz
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VOICES photo and video contest!

VOICES in the kitchen

IT Department visits the Hope Lodge

Meet your researcher: Dr. Paul Helft
When you or someone you know is diagnosed with cancer, one of the first things someone may do is hop on the internet, go to the American Cancer Society web site, or other services such as Google to find all the information you can about the diagnosis. Believe it or not, there existed a time when you couldn’t double-click a program and have decades worth of clinical knowledge at your fingertips.

Dr. Paul Helft, an Oncologist and ACS grantee based at Indiana University, Indianapolis, remembers this world without the internet. Although the digital divide is shrinking, Dr. Helft saw the potential the Internet had for recently diagnosed patients early on.

“While I was training in Oncology, I got interested in the fact that people were starting to get on the internet, look at the various sources, [then] they would bring that information into their doctors and say “hey did you hear about this, or what about this.” And I recognized that [this] was likely to have a major impact on the clinical encounter between a doctor and his/her patient,” said Dr. Helft.

Interested in the psychosocial aspect of cancer care, Dr. Helft’s research concerns itself with the effect of the internet on the doctor and patient relationship.

Patients are coming into doctors’ office better informed, and therefore can make better decisions based on their online information search. The doctor, in some cases, could become threatened by the fact that the patient has more information than themselves.

“I have personally had patients come in who may have a very rare illness [and] they know more about it than I do. What I’ve done with my research is take the fact that people are starting to use the internet to learn more about their disease, as a lens to look at the broader issue at how doctors and patients reach decisions.”

This new relationship between doctors and informed patients creates an ethical dilemma.

“If I tell you have pancreatic cancer and the average survival is only about six months, it’s pretty hard to find anything to hope for. [Oncologists have to] help people understand their situation and their outlook. There situation is uncertain; can’t predict the future for sure. At the same time, help them find something to hope for.”

Dr. Helft is also the Director of the Charles Warren Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics at Indiana University at Clarian hospital. While not conducting research, he likes to spend time with his two daughters and play country blues guitar.

To learn more about the Society’s research program and funding, visit www.cancer.org/research.