Online Cancer Channel Offers Information, Support to Patients

By Darren Brown, News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A cancer diagnosis can be unnerving at the least, and frightening at the worst. The amount of information available on the disease can be overwhelming for the recently diagnosed, but an Oklahoma healthcare group is using the Internet to help ease those fears.

Featuring hundreds of survivor interviews, educational videos, and even a glossary of cancer terminology, Integriscancer.com is the nation's first online cancer channel.

Philip Lance, president of Integris Cancer Institute Oklahoma, sees the new site as an extension of the Institute's mission.

"It's an opportunity to truly see the full array of experiences that the patients have," Lance said.  "This was another way for us to really raise the bar, set the new standard, and really more effectively reach out to the communities we serve."

Zora Brown, who's featured prominently on the site, is an Integris employee, but she has a much deeper connection. Brown's been diagnosed with the  disease multiple times, and she's a fierce advocate for cancer education.

"My grandmother, my mother, my three sisters, and several of my nieces and I have all been diagnosed with cancer," Brown said.  "I wanted to be able to let people know that there are things available, that there is progress being made." 

Integriscancer.com is based in Oklahoma, but Lance sees it as an opportunity to deliver a strong message of hope to a worldwide audience.

"We have facilities all across the state of Oklahoma, and we're reaching out beyond the borders," Lance said.