Standard advice tends to be "don't google" but in my case it has really helped. I was treated for penile cancer a year ago, which was treated conservatively with organ-sparing surgery, and now have regular checkups. It is google that has explained to me the rationale for organ-sparing surgery. And it describes in detail the two components in these checkups. 1. Checking for local recurrences on the penis itself and 2. Checking for regional occurences in lymph nodes in the groin.
What google has taught me is that the 'local recurrence' component is not that scary because local recurrences do not affect the survival rate at all, and there is a very good chance that it would be treated with further organ sparing surgery. The lymph node component is more serious, but again it is google that gave me the chances of recurrence, which are low for my T1 G2 tumour, as I had a sentinal node procedure (i.e they surgically removed the lymph nodes in the groin that were most likely to be affected and checked these very carefully, and they were clear). I was then able to check with my specialist to see if my understanding, based on Google, was correct. It is thanks to Google that my check up anxiety is now as low as it is, even though I still get stressed when the appointment time comes round.
There is a lot of misleading information out there on google, as we all know. But reputable websites are easy to identify. And any information gleaned can be cross-checked with your specialist. A downside is that the accurate information may be very bleak and patients may not wish to know this. In my case, I like to know where I stand, including my prognosis, to the maximum extent possible. But everyone is different, of course.
One thing google is very bad at, though, is interpreting symptoms! That is something that is definitely best left to the doctors.
