Scenario
- Esophageal cancer has become one of the main forms of cancers which usually causes a lot of suffering to patients due to immense pain, difficulty in swallowing or dyasphagia and other related symptoms. The latter is mainly caused by the development of esophageal tumors (O’connor, 2011).
- Mr. Jones had a history of esophageal in his family which he was also diagnosed with at the age of 54. However, he was no longer interested in diagnosis since his father also suffered and died from the same ailment.
- However, his wife was concerned about this poor state of health and did not want to give up on searching the best medical treatment.
- Mrs. Jones studied at high school like her husband so she used this knowledge to look for online articles related to management of esophageal cancer (Zhang et al., 2012).
- She had also sought assistance from a nurse at the hospital which she and her husband had been been visiting so that they could find a credible website.
Mr. Jones is one of the many Americans who has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She has been accompanying her husband to the oncologist’s office to seek advice on treatment and has also sought help from other sources like the internet. However, her education background denies her the ability to determine which source of information or website has credible information related to her husband’s ill-health.
Criteria for judging appropriate internet information
Zhang et al. (2012) posit that determining appropriate and credible internet information requires a careful evaluation of the website an individual visits. Some of the criteria used for judging internet information include determining the accuracy of the information, the authority of the internet or web document, the currency of the information on the internet, its objectivity and coverage of the required information.
Suspect website
- There are numerous websites that offer information on esophageal cancer but do not meet the best criteria for a credible site.
- One of such websites is cancercompass. It offers general information on esophageal cancer but does not have authoritative and comprehensive coverage (Hatt et al., 2012).
It is so because it does not have the credentials of authors so to gain further information, a person has to log in or become its member.
Credible website
- There are numerous credible websites where one can obtain information related to esophageal health.
- The Medscape website adheres to all the criteria for a credible website as already discussed (Kahrilas, 2011).
Besides, information presented is comprehensive and can be used by both families of patients and health professionals.
References
Hatt, M., LePogam, A., Visvikis, D., Pradier, O. & Le Rest, C. (2012). Impact of partial-volume effect correction on the predictive and prognostic value of baseline ^sup 18^F-FDG PET images in esophageal cancer. The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 53(1), 12-20.
Kahrilas, P. (2011). The Problems with Surveillance of Barrett’s Esophagus. The New England Journal of Medicine, 365(15), 1437-1438.
O’connor, A. (2011). Risk: clarity on cancer and Barrett’s Esophagus: [Science Desk]. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. D.6.
Zhang, H., Yin, Y., Zhang, L., Zheng, X., Gao, D., Chen, K. & Zhang, Y. (2012). The effects of vascular endothelial growth factor C knockdown in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Journal of Cancer Research & Clinical Oncology, 138(1), 133-9.