Urologychannel Adds Services that Link Prostate Cancer Patients, Survivors, and Physicians to Share Information and Support

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(Vocus) July 30, 2008 -- In urologychannel.com's new "Living with Prostate Cancer" (http://livingwith.urologychannel.com/prostate-cancer/) blog, Marc, a 57-year old prostate cancer survivor writes the following, "?it's 7 years later, my PSA is still 0.0 and I have had no incontinence problems and no sexual problems as well." These encouraging words are found in a new section of urologychannel that allows prostate cancer patients to explore their medical options and share information about their fight against prostate cancer. Sharing his personal experience with others, including patients who have been recently diagnosed, he goes on to say, "I do use Viagra sometimes but I think it?s more mental than anything else and, what the hell, if you can why wouldn?t you. For all you guys going through this crap right now, all I can tell you is there is life after cancer!"

The "Living with?" sections of urologychannel are collections of personal stories submitted by browsers that are moderated and edited by urologychannel staff, and then published. Readers of the stories can post responses.

In addition to the prostate cancer blog, urologychannel's other recent enhancements include a peer-to-peer prostate cancer forum (http://forum.urologychannel.com/hc-forum/prostate-cancer_f219/) and a Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Prostate Cancer (http://www.urologychannel.com/prostatecancer/index.shtml) worksheet that is designed for patients to print out and bring to medical appointments.

The peer-to-peer forum is a place for patients and their friends, family members, and caregivers to share information using a more conversational format. Physicians in Healthcommunities.com medical advisor network also visit the forum and offer input from time to time. They do not provide individualized diagnostic or treatment information, but they do answer basic questions about prostate cancer. Physicians who contribute to the forums are screened and identified as "Healthcommunities.com Approved Physicians.?

The Questions to Ask Your Doctor about Prostate Cancer worksheet helps prostate cancer patients ask their doctor the right questions so they can make the most of their physician appointments and become involved partners in their own care.

All three of these new interactive tools are designed by physicians to empower patients. ?Most physicians want their patients to be involved in making health care decisions,? says Stanley J. Swierzewski III, M.D., a practicing urologist and the CEO and Founder of Healthcommunities.com. ?Fighting prostate cancer requires a partnership between the patient, his urologist, and the rest of the medical team. The enhancements to urologychannel help expand that partnership to others who are fighting prostate cancer or who have beaten it.?

The enhancements to urologychannel are not limited to the prostate cancer pages: over 30 clinical conditions also have their own ?Living with?? pages and peer-to-peer forums.

Urologychannel.com is published by Healthcommunities.com, Inc. (http://www.healthcommunities.com), a privately-held company founded in 1998. Healthcommunities.com, which serves health care consumers searching for reliable information on the Internet, is a Physician Developed and Monitored? collection of online communities that provides information and resources to consumers and patient education website services to health care providers.

The primary goal of urologychannel is to provide trustworthy patient education information to millions of health care consumers. The singular focus on urological issues?a rarity among health information websites?resonates with urologists and encourages physician involvement through its medical advisor program (http://www.healthcommunities.com/advisors/). Today, urologychannel has become a hub for urologists who want to use the Internet to help patients.

Dr. Michael Zaragoza, of Urology Associates of Dover (http://www.urologyassociatesofdover.com/physicians.shtml), is a urologychannel advisor who finds value in the collegial environment of the community, saying, "In order to stay current with medicine, the sharing of information between colleagues is crucial. I have found urologychannel to be a great venue for this exchange among urologists. Even after 15 years of practice, I continually strive to improve myself and enjoy interactive dialogues with like-minded clinicians."

Urologychannel was among the first companies to put health information on the Internet, and it continues to thrive as an online medical resource by using its online physician network to empower patients. Healthcommunities' websites provide trustworthy clinical condition information in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format that does not overwhelm visitors with medical jargon. The practical health information is easy to find and downloads quickly. Access to all of HC's websites is completely free.

Browsers on the prostate cancer clinical condition section of urologychannel.com can also use the physician locator feature, MDLocator, to find urologists in their area who have registered for the service.

In August 2008, Healthcommunities.com will launch kidshealthchannel (http://www.kidshealthchannel.com), which will provide important information about children's health issues to expectant parents, parents, guardians, and caregivers of children from birth to adolescence. Pediatricians who are interested in contributing to the development of kidshealthchannel should contact Healthcommunities.com.

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