Chances are that you have access to a computer. It's easy and fast to find health information on the Internet. Some health sites are reliable and trustworthy while others may be false or misleading. So what do you do? Here are some common questions and answers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to help you assess health information on the Internet.

Who owns the site? A site’s Web address will tell you what type of organization owns it. For example, addresses ending in “gov” are federal government agencies; “edu” means an educational institution; “org” is used by non-profit organizations; and “com” is used by commercial organizations. For more information about a site’s owner, look for a link called “About Us.”

Where does the information come from? Health-related sites should give the names and medical qualifications of the people who prepared and/or reviewed the materials. It also should list references (such as articles in medical journals) for medical facts and statistics.

Is the information opinions or facts? Opinions and advice should be clearly separate from scientific facts based on research results.

How current is the information? It is particularly important that medical information be up to date. Information should include the date it was published to the site and the date it was last reviewed for scientific accuracy.

For more information, call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER and ask for a free copy of “How To Evaluate Health Information on the Internet: Questions and Answers.”