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E-Healthbeat: Understanding Pathology Reports

Pathology reports can be the most difficult medical records for patients to understand. Yet they're among the most important because they help doctors plan treatment. A web site developed by the College of American Pathologists is attempting to explain the medical jargon, and help cancer patients and their families understand their illness and participate in their care.

The site, www.MyBiopsy.org., includes easy-to-understand information about 20 common cancers, including breast, lung, colon and prostate tumors. It features treatment options, definitions of key terms, and photographs of normal and abnormal tissue. The site is intended to provide useful information at the time of diagnosis, when news of a malignancy can be overwhelming.

The section on prostate cancer, for example, explains how prostate cancer is graded and staged, and what those measurements of a tumor's aggressiveness and spread mean. Current options for treating prostate cancer, links to clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, definitions of common terms, and suggested questions to ask a doctor are also included.

Visit www.MyBiopsy.org., and bookmark it in case you or someone you know needs it in the future.