cancernet@icicb.nci.nih.gov

Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the mail message, enter HELP to receive instructions and the current contents list. The National Cancer Center in Tokyo Japan has a gopher service at gopher.ncc.go.jp. The World Health Organization (WHO) has one at gopher.who.ch.

Disabilities —————— Bulletin boards and online conferences give equal access to all persons. Everybody is treated the same way, regardless if they sit in a wheel chair, have a hearing impairment, stutter, cannot speak clearly, have difficulties in thinking or acting quickly, or just have a different looks. You need not worry about typing errors. Those who read them will never know whether it's because you never learned how to write on a computer, or if it is because you have difficulties in controlling your movements. You alone decide if others are to know about your personal disability. If you want it to be a secret, then it will remain a secret. Nobody can possibly know that you are mute and lame from the neck and down, that computer communication is your main gate into the outer world, and that you are writing messages with a stick attached to your forehead. Therefore, the online world has changed the lives of many people with disabilities. Computer communications have opened a new world for those who are forced to stay at home, or thinks that it is too difficult to travel. Those who can easily drive their car to the library, often have difficulties in understanding the significance of this. Usenet has alt.education.disabled and misc.handicap. It covers all areas of disabilities, technical, medical, educational, legal, etc. UUCP has handicap. It is presented in the following words:

Contact: wtm@bunker.shel.isc-br.com Purpose: The Handicap Digest provides an information/discussion exchange for issues dealing with the physically/mentally handicapped. Topics include, but are not limited to: medical, education, legal, technological aids and the handicapped in society.

CompuServe's Disabilities Forum has the following sections: General
Interest, Develop. Disabilities, Emotional Disturbances, Hearing
Impairments, Learning Disabilities, Vision Impairments, Mobility
Impaired, Rights/Legislation, Education/Employment and Family
Life/Leisure.
AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET is devoted to the developmentally disabled,
their teachers, and those interested in this area. The list BLIND-
L@UAFSYSB.BITNET focuses on "Computer Use by and for the Blind."
COMMDIS@RPIECS.BITNET is a mailing list discussing "Speech
disorders."
DEAF-L@SIUCVMB.BITNET is the "Deaf Discussion List," and
DEAFBLND@UKCC.UKY.EDU the "Deaf-Blind Discussion List." STUT-HLP
(LISTSERV@BGU.EDU) is a support forum for people who stutter and
their families.
On L-HCAP@NDSUVM1.BITNET, the focus is on Technology for the
handicapped. BACKS-L@UVMVM.BITNET discusses research on low back
pain disability.
The Handicap Digest is an electronic mail only digest of
articles relating to all types of issues affecting the handicapped.
The articles are taken from the Usenet newsgroup, the Handicap
News. (misc.handicap) and various FidoNet conferences such as
ABLED, BlinkTalk SilentTalk, Chronic Pain, Spinal Injury, Rare
Conditions, and several others. Subscribe by email to

wtm@bunker.shel.isc-br.com

Handicap.shel.isc-br.com (129.189.4.184) is the email address to an anonymous ftp site that has disability-related files and programs. The disk has some 40 directories with 500 or so files covering all types of disabilities. (This service can be used through FTPMail. See chapter 12 about how to do this.)

Getting old —————- BITNET has the "BIOSCI Ageing Bulletin Board" on AGEING@IRLEARN . Usenet has bionet.molbio.ageing, while CompuServe's Issues Forum has a message section called "Seniors." Ageline on Dialog is a database produced by the American Association of Retired Persons. It does an excellent job covering research about older persons, particularly on consumer issues and health care, by summarizing journal articles and the contents of other published reports. While our "face-to-face" world sometimes makes it difficult for older people to participate in discussions between young people, this is not so in the Online World. All people are treated the same way. It is impossible for others to know your age, unless someone tells them.

Holistic Healing and Health —————————————- HOLISTIC on LISTSERV@SIUCVMB.SIU.EDU is dedicated to "providing information and discussion on holistic concepts and methods of living which provide a natural way of dealing with the challenges of life." Here are some topics dealt with in this forum:

Various Dimensions of Holistic Healing and Health
States of Consciousness
Meditation and the role it plays in spiritual/physical health
The impact of a healthy diet - including Herbs and Vitamins
Bodywork - such as Rolfing, Trager bodywork, Reichian, etc.
Acupuncture/pressure
Hypnosis and Biofeedback
Visualizations and Affirmations
Spiritual Healing - Psychic healing methods
Bioenergetics
The holistic connection between mind and body
Honest discussion of topics relevant to personal/spiritual
growth - And anything else within context for the betterment
of the world.