When receiving a life-threatening diagnosis, patients and their families often have many questions and need different types of support throughout the journey to battle the illness.  Now, those with cancer have a comprehensive information resource available to guide treatment options and survival.

Patient Resource: A Cancer Treatment and Facilities Guide For Patients and Their Families was released in 2007 from Patient Resource Publishing and includes information such as:

* The importance of choosing the correct initial treatment
* How to find the best treatment facilities in the United States
* How to locate the top specialists for individual types of cancer
* The importance of getting a second and even a third opinion
* How to locate and participate in clinical drug trials
* How to manage financial issues, including the insurance maze
* Inspiring cancer survivor stories that offer insight, encouragement and hope
* With over 1,400 cancer treatment facilities in the United States, Patient Resource lists them all with contact information for each, including phone numbers, city, state and Web sites. This cross- reference allows patients and their families to focus their search specific to their own cancer type, thus saving valuable time. The guide will also explain the differences between National Cancer Institute (NCI) and American Cancer Society (ACS) designated cancer centers.

"We are very pleased to make this guide available in all the major chain bookstores," Atwood said. "It means we are touching hundreds of thousands of cancer patients and their family members where they already find themselves shopping on a regular basis." The cancer guide sells for $6.95 at retail and on the publication's website (http://www.patientresource.net). It is also distributed free of charge at more than 7,000 oncology offices and cancer treatment facilities nationally.

"Our goal is simple: We want every cancer patient in America to have access to the vital information contained in Patient Resource," Atwood said. "We want to arm cancer patients with the tools they need to make informed medical decisions."

Linette Atwood, CEO of Patient Resource Publishing, has come face to face with cancer many times: She lost her father to stomach cancer when he was 62, her husband to leukemia at age 50, and her sister to breast cancer at age 49. Her own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and is now disease-free. Along with that devastating history, consider this: Linette Atwood is herself a breast cancer survivor.

This compelling journey of cancer diagnosis and survival - along with 25 years of professional experience as co-founder of Atwood Publishing - serves as the backdrop for Atwood's new venture. She's formed this new publishing company with the sole purpose of providing cancer patients and their families with a single comprehensive source of information they need to fight their disease - and survive.

Atwood knows the life-saving potential of such a guide. She is especially passionate about urging newly diagnosed cancer patients to choose their initial treatment carefully - and not to blindly follow the first medical advice they receive.

"Cancer is a life-threatening disease which requires a completely different approach than a chronic illness," she says. "The treatment you choose in the beginning can determine your chances for a cure."

To illustrate her point, Atwood draws from personal experience.

"We made mistakes when my husband was originally diagnosed with leukemia," Atwood said. "We learned from those mistakes. Because there wasn't a comprehensive reference like Patient Resource available to us, we actually hired a professional researcher to find the newest and best treatment options. But we lost valuable time during this process - time we could have used in getting treatment. When faced with this life-changing diagnosis of cancer, I know in my heart that our new guide will help save lives."

 "No one wants to hear the words, 'You've got cancer'," she states emphatically. "But I survived it and learned a great deal in the process. Combining my own cancer journey with my career in publishing allows me to share that information with millions of others."

In addition to the guide, the company is providing a Patient Matching/Mentor Service upon request. The program matches newly diagnosed cancer patients with others who have survived the same type of cancer. Although the direction of a person's treatment is ultimately their own decision, the mentor program can put patients in touch with a supportive cancer survivor eager to share their own story. Atwood says it's as simple as logging on their website at http://www.patientresource.net and clicking on the icon for Patient Mentor Program.

"This service will reignite hope and brighten the spirit for everyone fighting cancer," Atwood adds. "And that positive attitude is a key step to long- term survival."