Future directions for the cancer information service and cancer education.

From its beginnings in the 1970s, the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service (CIS) has developed as a vibrant program for providing health care professionals and the public with relevant cancer-related information through telephone, mail, and online communication. The CIS has become an important contributor to health communication and health education research. Through its network of community partnerships, it has disseminated relevant cancer information and health promotion programs to vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. It has become a model for the development of health information and education programs around the world. However, the CIS is still growing; it is continually innovating and refining its programs and services. This concluding article examines the potential for increasing CIS contributions to cancer education and cancer control in the future.