As oncologists and oncology professionals know, receiving a cancer diagnosis is often a frightening and overwhelming experience for patients, and the first thing many people do upon receiving the news is seek out information, hoping to be empowered through knowledge. People often turn to the Internet and leading medical journals for the latest advances, but are typically blocked from the research by subscription paywalls. Through a new initiative called patientACCESS, ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation are making it possible for patients being treated for cancer and their caregivers to gain free access to medical research published in ASCO's Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) and Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP).

PatientACCESS is an initiative between six publishers: ASCO, the American Association for Cancer Research, Elsevier, SAGE, Wiley, and Wolters Kluwer Health, as well as the Copyright Clearance Center. Since the launch of the program in February, more than 670 JCO and JOP articles have been requested and feedback from patients, advocates, and doctors has been very positive, showing a real need and desire for information about cancer research. To obtain an article, patients with cancer and their caregivers can follow the steps below:

1. Search the JCO (jco.ascopubs.org) or JOP (jop.ascopubs.org) website for topics of interest
2. Once an article has been identified, select the PDF version, and then click the link entitled patientACCESS on the bottom of the screen, which will take users to the RightsLink page of the Copyright Clearance Center website (copyright.com)
3. Set up an account or log in with an established email and password
4. Review and accept the Terms and Conditions
5. Users will receive a confirmation email from the Copyright Clearance Center stating that RightsLink has received the order. The requested article will arrive via email within 24 hours as a PDF attachment

Please tell your patients about patientACCESS; more information is available at cancer.net/patientACCESS.

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Supporting Access to Knowledge

PatientACCESS is made possible by the support of the Conquer Cancer Foundation's Mission Endowment fund. The Foundation is working to ensure that vital information focusing on everything from breakthrough research to treatment options and survivorship is available and easily accessible whenever and wherever patients need it. By supporting patientACCESS, the Foundation is helping put the latest cancer research discoveries from around the world immediately at the fingertips of patients searching for the most up-to-date information, empowering them to make better-informed health care decisions.

Well-informed patients are truly their own best advocates and invaluable partners for physicians. This is one reason why the Foundation also funds ASCO's patient-information program, including Cancer.Net. Everyone in the world, in some way and at some point, will eventually be touched by cancer. Make a gift to the Foundation today to support valuable patient-information initiatives such as patientACCESS; visit conquercancerfoundation.org/donate.