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When cancer develops, many people need to learn to ask for and accept
outside help for the first time. These are good ways to begin:
Take time to ask medical questions of your doctor, nurse specialists,
therapists, and technologists.
Ma... |
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Coping tips for husbands
When a woman gets a diagnosis of cancer, her entire family can be affected.
Often, in addition to his other responsibilities, a husband is catapulted into
the role of primary caregiver. Rene Barrat-Gordon, LISW, a Cleveland Cl... |
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Learning about the type of cancer the person in your family has and the treatment being
used will help you understand what is happening to your family member. Both of these are
important to know about because there are more than 100 different types of ca... |
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Some people have pain that is not relieved by medicine or nondrug techniques.
In these cases, other treatments can be used to reduce pain.
Radiation Therapy
Treatment with high-energy rays (called radiation therapy) can reduce pain
by shrinking a tumor... |
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Important Facts About Cancer Pain Treatment
"Pain Control: A Guide for People With Cancer and Their Families"
will help you learn about pain control for people with cancer. You will find out
how to work with your doctors, nurses, and pharmacis... |
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You may want more information for yourself, your family, and your doctor. The
following National Cancer Institute (NCI) services are available to help you.
Telephone
Cancer Information Service (CIS)
Provides accurate, up-to-date information on cancer t... |
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Are you at risk for a certain disease? It's a question we've all pondered at
one time, says Brian Clark, Ph.D., M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer
Center Medical Genetics Program. For some, the answer can be found within their
genetic herit... |
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Cryopreservation Is Practical Option For Male Cancer Patients
Preserving fertility may be one of the last things on a man’s mind when
cancer is diagnosed. But men who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation
therapy for all kinds of cancers, including... |
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A bone marrow transplant may be used to treat patients who have a form of
cancer such as leukemia, lymphoma, or breast cancer.
What is bone marrow?Bone marrow is
the spongy tissue found inside bone. The bone marrow in the breast bone, skull,
hips... |
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Decreased physical activity, which may be the result of the
cancer itself or the treatment, can lead to tiredness and lack of energy.
Regular, moderate exercise can decrease these feelings, help you stay active and
increase your energy. Even during ca... |
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When you or someone you love has cancer, you want answers to all your
questions – big or small. The Cleveland Clinic’s "Cancer Answer
Line" is a toll-free hotline staffed by registered nurses Monday through
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST... |
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What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial, also called a research study, is a program that tests the
value, and safety of various interventions in people.
Clinical trials are meant to find new and improved methods of evaluating or
treati... |
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Cancer can begin in any organ or tissue of the body and is usually named for the part of the body or the type of tissue
in which it begins (also called the primary, or original, cancer site). Cancer
can spread metastasize from the primary tumor and form ... |
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Cancer is one of the scariest words in the English language. When you hear
the word as part of a diagnosis, it’s natural to feel many emotions,
especially fear.
A cancer diagnosis can cause you and your family a great deal of stress, but
you have man... |
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Although doctors warn that survival statistics don’t usually predict
individual prognosis.
A new type of statistical analysis shows that people diagnosed with cancer
are living longer than expected. The results underscore the significant strides
... |
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OverviewCancer
will soon become the number one killer of Americans. Although cancer death rates
from many types of tumors are decreasing, death rates for other types (such as
lung cancer) are actually on the rise. New technical approaches to cancer
tre... |
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What is the difference between fatigue and tiredness?
Fatigue is often confused with tiredness. Tiredness happens to everyone.
It
is an expected feeling after certain activities or at the end of the day. Usually, you
know why you are tired, and a goo... |
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What is a risk factor?
A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of developing a
disease. Some examples of risk factors for cancer include:
Age
Race
Gender
A family history of certain cancers
The use of tobacco products
... |
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Major Studies Look at the Role of Drugs and Food in Preventing Cancer
"An ounce of prevention...." begins the well-worn saying, but in
the case of cancer it seems a pound of cure is still the best hope.
That may change as researchers study t... |
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How will radiation therapy affect my skin?
During your treatment, radiation must pass through your skin. You may notice some skin
changes in the area exposed to radiation. Your skin may become red, warm and sensitive... |
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Living with chemotherapyThe following
are important dos and don'ts during chemotherapy as well as tips designed to
ease your discomfort while undergoing the treatments.
No aspirin
Do not take any aspirin or products containing aspirin. For
... |
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Cancer is a blow to every family it touches. How it is handled is
determined to a great extent by how the family has functioned as a unit in
the past.
Problems within the family can be the most difficult to handle; you cannot
go home ... |
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Why should pain be treated?Pain
can affect you in many ways. It can keep you from being active, from sleeping
well, from enjoying family and friends, and from eating. Pain also can make you
feel afraid or depressed. When you are in pain or uncomfortable... |
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As far as Qing Wang, Ph.D., is concerned, sometimes you can
have it both ways. Groundbreaking genetic research by
Dr. Wang, director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Cardiovascular
Genetics, and his team may lead to the development of medication t... |
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It is natural for anyone who has completed cancer
treatment to be concerned about what the future holds. Many patients are
concerned about the way they look and feel, and about whether the cancer will recur
(come back). Patients wonder what they can do ... |
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What is immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy, also called biological therapy, is a type of treatment that
uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. The therapy mainly consists of
stimulating the immune system to help it do its job more effectively. ... |
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When Is Internal Radiation Therapy Used?
Your doctor may decide that a high dose of radiation given to a small area
of your body is the best way to treat your cancer. Internal radiation therapy
allows the doctor to give a higher total dose of radiation ... |
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Each person must work through, in his or her own way, feelings of possible
death, fear, and isolation. Returning to normal routines as much as possible
often helps.
Give the pleasures and responsibilities of each day the attention they
... |
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Three of the nation’s leading non-profit health agencies in June announced
a joint initiative to empower Americans to help lower their risk of cancer,
diabetes, heart disease and stroke by following a single set of recommendations.
Combined, the four ... |
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All the methods of treating cancer - surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy,
hormone therapy, and biological therapy (immunotherapy) - are very powerful.
Although these treatments target the fast-growing cancer cells in your body,
healthy cells can al... |
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Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow (the spongy
tissue found inside bone). Multiple myeloma is part of a spectrum of diseases
called plasma cell dyscrasia. Plasma cells are a type of white blood cells
responsible for formin... |
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Cleveland Clinic-led researchers have identified a new gene that regulates
blood vessel formation, or angiogenesis, within the human body. Their discovery
may have potential for devising new treatments for cancer, ischemic heart
disease, stroke and othe... |
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You’ve just been diagnosed with cancer. Or maybe you’re a parent with a
child who’s just been diagnosed. And now you’re being asked to make some
very important decisions about treatment and care. But who can think clearly
after such news? And what is ... |
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Not all people think to see their dentists before starting cancer treatments,
but there are several reasons why they should. For instance, preexisting or
untreated oral disease can complicate cancer treatment. Moreover, according to
the National Insti... |
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Cancer pain that is refractory to oral medication often can be controlled
through alternative pain management techniques, reports Nagy Mekhail, M.D.,
Ph.D., chairman, Department of Pain Management. Pain management is a major
determinant of quality of ... |
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What is cancer pain?
The majority of people with cancer will experience pain at some time or
another. The pain can result from the cancer itself, or from the cancer’s
treatment. In addition, some patients who have been cured of their cancer can
... |
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What is palliative care?
Palliative care is a special type of medical care that focuses on treatment
of the symptoms people may have when they are living with a chronic
(long-standing) illness, such as cancer or heart failure. It is often compared
to t... |
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I. Age: Birth to 2 years
A. Exam Frequency: Six visits in the first year; two in the second year
B. Preventive Screening:
1. Health history: Medical and family history; developmental and behavioral history
2. Height, weight, and head circumferenc... |
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Each year, 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer; 1,500 die from
cancer daily, and the numbers continue to grow. Right now, approximately 35% of
Americans have a possibility of developing cancer in their lifetime. It appears
that poor dietary ... |
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About half of all cancer patients require radiation therapy during some phase
of their cancer care. Radiation treatments can be highly successful and
generally have tolerable side effects. Often, they are combined with surgery or
chemotherapy for an i... |
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What Is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation
therapy (sometimes called radiotherapy, x-ray therapy, or irradiation)
is the treatment of disease using penetrating beams of high energy waves or
streams of particles called radiation.
Many years ago doctors learn... |
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What is radionuclide scanning?
Radionuclide scanning, also called nuclear medicine scanning, is a test that
produces pictures (scans) of internal body parts using small amounts of
radioactive material. This test is used to provide images of organs and a... |
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Targeted drug therapy using cobalamin, or vitamin B-12, is the carrier of a
cancer-killing agent.
Taking advantage of the characteristics of tumor and vitamin physiology,
cancer researchers have designed a modified cobalamin that targets cancer cells
... |
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Whenever we need to make a difficult decision, it's usually helpful to gather
other points of view. Part of making a health care decision that feels right may
include obtaining a second opinion.
When should you seek a second opinion?
A second opi... |
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Some in the family are able to absorb the impact of diagnosis sooner than
others. This can create clashing needs as some wish to talk and some need to
be private and introspective.
Verbal and nonverbal clues help determine when is a good t... |
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Cancer can be unutterably lonely. No one should try to bear it alone.
Patient, family, and friends usually learn the diagnosis sooner or later.
Most people find it easier for all if everybody can share their feelings
instead of hiding them... |
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The electronic nose, a device long used for safety and quality control in the
food, wine and perfume industries, may also be used in the future to detect
early evidence of lung cancer.
Known as the Cyranose, the electronic nose is a hand-sized device ... |
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Caregivers work hard to enable their loved ones to live as independently as
possible and with the highest possible quality of life. But studies show that
caregivers who don't look after themselves are at high risk for burnout,
depression, physical illne... |
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Selves and self-image
Cancer treatment can extend over weeks or months; side effects may come
and go.
Side effects can make you feel rotten, even make you think the cancer has
returned.
The known is less frightening than the unknown. L... |
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Your first question may be, "Should I tell my child about the
cancer?" You may want to protect your child, but children usually know when
something is wrong. Your child may not be feeling well, may be seeing the doctor
often, and may have alre... |
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Everyone has an internal clock, a genetic timepiece that controls a broad
range of metabolic, cellular, physiological and behavioral activities.
Understanding which genes control the variations in these daily activities could
lead not only to new canc... |
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Some friends will deal well with your illness and provide gratifying
support.
Some will be unable to cope with the possibility of death and will
disappear from your life.
Most will want to help but may be uncomfortable and unsure of how... |
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Introduction
When someone in your family has cancer, things can change for everyone.
These changes can be large or small. What it is like to have a parent or a brother or
sister with cancer depends on a lot of things such as:
Who in your family ... |
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Cancer treatment
There are four main kinds of treatment for cancer-surgery, chemotherapy,
radiation therapy, and biological therapy. These are used to destroy cancer cells and
bring about a remission. Depending on what type of cancer people have, they c... |
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