Google-MedlinePlus Challenge

1. Topic: Pancreatic cancer.

2. Google search on "pancreatic cancer" brought up about 3,030,000 hits in 0.32 seconds.

3. Top three hits:

General Information about Pancreatic Cancer, National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/pancreatic/patient)

"Pancreatic Cancer," EMedicineHealth (http://www.emedicinehealth.com/pancreatic_cancer/article_em.htm)

"Pancreatic Cancer," Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.org/pancreatic-cancer)

4. National Cancer Institute, the first hit, has the most useful, easy-to-understand information. The Mayo Clinic's site seems geared toward patients who will be treated there, while EMedicineHealth's site has only very basic information, with few details.

5. MedlinePlus search on "pancreatic cancer" brought up 349 hits, including a preview of its main article on the disease. Clicking through to that page brings up a comprehensive linked index to subtopics such as treatment, research and current news.

6. a. I found MedlinePlus's results to be more useful and accurate than Google's.

6. b. In future I think I will start with MedlinePlus for information on health issues. Google is a little hit-or-miss while Medline has more tailored results.