"Empowerment" is a hot topic in health research these days. A quick Medline search using the phrase "patient empowerment" elicits over 500 recent articles. In this edition of Cancer, our Canadian colleagues provide us with 2 articles that analyze a simple, validated instrument to assess how we empower cancer patients. 1,2 Their definition of empowerment is a sense of control over one's life and, thus, better coping. Empowerment should occur throughout the cancer continuum of care. Maunsell and colleagues used 2 populations-a population-based cancer registry and the Canadian Cancer Society's information and peer-support programs. Five (of 8) components of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) correlated strongly with the construct of "empowerment"-social integration and support, health service navigation, constructive attitudes and approaches, skill and technique acquisition, and emotional distress. Lauzier's group then used these indicators to evaluate cancer organizations' support services. The stated goal of support services is to empower patients so they can become partners with their providers in optimizing care. These 2 articles provide important steps in understanding what works in the realm of patient support rather than assuming a priori that the services provided are effective.Recent efforts in research on quality of life, patient navigation, 3-6 and the use of support groups have had various impacts, likely because different scales were measuring different but related dimensions of empowerment. The effectiveness of patient navigation in overcoming barriers to cancer screening has been well documented. 7,8 Clinical practice guidelines are being proposed for everything from psychosocial to spiritual care of the cancer survivor, all with the intent to "empower" our patients. 9,10 New research is focusing on patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials with the development of reporting standards. 11,12 Oncology research has evolved in recent years beyond studying the drugs, side effects, and years of survival to understanding the totality of the cancer experience. Indeed, oncology is now following the pattern of other chronic diseases to investigate how management of the patient changes over the course of disease. An accumulating body of evidence indicates that chronic illness self-management programs worldwide are improving health outcomes. 13 More and more, cancer patients are included in the chronic disease category, and almost all support and management occurs outside the clinic and hospital settings. Studies have investigated specific diseases, such as chronic myeloid leukemia and other cancers, using oncology nurses to assess patient self-management of symptoms. 14,15 Others have assessed the impact of patient navigation on compliance with treatment such as radiation therapy. 1 Cancer survivorship plans have now being analyzed to help patients and families navigate post-treatment long-term needs. 16,17 There will continue to be increased need for patients and families to self-manage during...