Cancer Medical Reference
- What Is a Radiation Oncologist?
Radiation oncologists are doctors who specialize in treating cancer with radiation therapy. Learn more about the work they do and why you might need to see one.
- Cancer Caused by Radiation Therapy
While it’s rare, it’s possible to get a second type of cancer from radiation treatment. Find out why this could happen, how to manage the risk, and what other side effects could occur.
- Tumor Typing
The first signs of a tumor are often unusual symptoms you can’t explain. Doctors use “tumor typing” to find out if the mass is cancer and, if so, to narrow down the type of tumor. Find out more.
- Hospice Care for Cancer: What You Need to Know
If you have advanced cancer, hospice care may allow you to make the most of the last stage of your life. Find out how hospice works, and how to get care.
- Exercise During Cancer Treatment
Exercise can be great for you if you’re going through cancer treatment. Find out what workouts are best for you, how they can help, and how to stay safe as you get active.
- Smoking and Cancer Risk
Smoking has been linked to 12 types of cancers, including lung, colon, liver, and stomach cancer. Find out how it causes cancers, and how much quitting may lower your cancer risk.
- What Are Bone Scans for Cancer?
To test for cancer, you may need to have a bone scan. Find out what happens during a bone scan, what the results mean, and any risks you may have.
- Epigenetics and Cancer Treatment
Epigenetic changes can turn cancer on, but scientists are working on ways to use this knowledge to turn cancer off. Learn more about current treatments.
- Hormone Therapy for Cancer
If you have breast, prostate, or certain other types of cancer, you may need hormone therapy. Find out how it works and what to expect when you get it.
- What Is Exercise Oncology?
Exercise oncology uses physical fitness to enhance the lives of people with cancer and cancer survivors. Learn more about how it works, the types of exercises it uses, and its benefits.
- What Is Cancer Metabolism?
Cancer metabolism is a potential target for treatments to slow down or stop cancers. Learn what researchers see as possible ways to do this.
- Surgery to Treat and Manage Cancer
If you have cancer, you may need surgery at some point. Here’s what you need to know about the different types and the role they play in your care.
- Radiation Doses from CT Scans
CT scans use radiation. Here’s what you need to know about your safety.
- Getting a Second Opinion When Your Child Has Cancer
An appointment with another doctor can help ensure you know all the options for treating your child's cancer. Learn the whys and hows of getting a second opinion.
- What Is Surgical Oncology?
Surgical oncology is a field of medicine that uses surgery to treat cancer. Learn more about what doctors in this field do and when you might need to see one.
- Dealing With Cancer ‘Scanxiety’
Getting scans to check for cancer, or to see how cancer treatment is working, can be nerve-wracking. Here’s how to tame those worries, which some people call “scanxiety.”
- What Is Radiation Oncology?
Radiation oncology is the area of medicine that uses radiation to treat cancer and other diseases. Find out how it works.
- Nuclear Medicine Scan
Learn what a nuclear medicine scan does, why you might get one, and what to expect if you do.
- Pediatric Cancer: Types, Symptoms, and Treatment
The cancers that children get, called "pediatric cancers," are usually not the same as those that turn up among adults. Learn more about the common types of childhood cancer and how they get treated.
- What Is Pediatric Oncology?
If your child has cancer, they'll likely get treated by a doctor who specializes in pediatric oncology. Find out about the types of cancer that are most common in children and how they get treated.
- What Is Medical Oncology?
Medical oncology is a field of medicine that focuses on treating cancer. Find out what it takes to become a medical oncologist, why you might need to see one, and what to expect when you do.
- What to Know About Inoperable Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer that has spread outside the pancreas may not be removable with surgery. Learn which treatments are available if your cancer is inoperable.
- What Is Interventional Radiology?
Learn how interventional radiology can diagnose and treat cancer and other conditions without major surgery.
- Nuclear Medicine for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
Nuclear medicine can help diagnose and treat different health conditions, including some forms of cancer. Learn what it's all about.
- What's the Difference Between Chemotherapy and Radiation?
Chemotherapy and radiation are among the most common treatments for cancer. Learn how these two therapies share treatment goals but work in different ways.
- Is GcMAF a Potential Cancer Treatment?
GcMAF isn't approved for cancer, and researchers aren’t investigating it as a possible treatment.
- What Is Proton Therapy?
What's Proton Therapy?
- Cancer Incidence Rates by Age
Age is the biggest risk factor for cancer. The older you get, the more likely you are to get the disease. Find out the median age at diagnosis for different types of cancer.
- What Is Intrathecal Chemotherapy?
When cancer cells are in, or could get to, the fluid around your brain, intrathecal chemotherapy is the way to deliver cancer-fighting drugs right to the area. Find out how it works and what you can expect.
- Tailbone Pain (Coccydynia)
Tailbone pain, or coccydynia, can be a dull ache or a sharp pain at the bottom of your spine. Causes range from injury to sitting too long to certain types of cancer. Learn what might be causing your tailbone pain and what you can do about it.
- Can Turmeric Fight Cancer?
You may have heard that turmeric is a natural way to fight cancer. But what do we really know?
- What Is Peritoneal Carcinomatosis?
Get the facts on peritoneal carcinomatosis, a rare cancer in the abdomen.
- Cancer and the Keto Diet
A ketogenic diet is a very high-fat diet that forces your body to burn fat, not carbs, for most of its fuel. Researchers are trying to learn if it may also help starve cancer cells.
- Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosolized Chemotherapy (PIPAC)
Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy, or PIPAC, is a new treatment technique that gives chemotherapy in the form of a pressurized aerosol, or spray. Learn about its uses, what happens when you get it, and what to expect afterward.
- What You Should Know About Costs of Chemotherapy
When your doctor says you need chemotherapy, you'll have lots of questions about the treatment, but you might also have concerns about the cost. The expenses you face depend a lot on the kind of chemo you get and your health insurance plan. Learn what to expect.
- HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy)
What to know about this cancer treatment, including its benefits and side effects.
- What Is IORT for Cancer?
Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is a very targeted dose of radiation that you get during surgery for cancer. Learn more about this type of cancer treatment.
- What Is a Chemo Port?
A chemo port makes it easier to get certain kinds of cancer treatments. Find out how it works, what it feels like, and how to take care of it.
- What to Expect From IMRT (Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy)
IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) is a special type of cancer treatment that targets your tumor but spares your healthy tissue. Find out more about the procedure, how to get ready, and what side effects you may have.
- Preparing Your Family and Home for Chemotherapy
About to start chemotherapy? Here’s how to get your home and family ready.
- What's the Prognosis for Stage IV Thyroid Cancer?
Stage IV thyroid cancer is cancer that has spread outside your thyroid gland. Your prognosis can help you know what to expect based on your type of cancer and where it is in your body.
- Cancer Warning Sign During the Pandemic? What to Do
What if you find a lump, notice an odd-looking mole, see blood where there shouldn’t be blood, or find another possible cancer symptom during the coronavirus pandemic? Get the facts on why you need to get these signs checked, and how to do so.
- You’ve Been Told You Have Cancer. Now What?
When you get a cancer diagnosis, it’s a lot to take in. Use these strategies to prepare to learn about your options, make decisions about your treatment, and line up personal support.
- What Is the Prognosis for Tonsil Cancer?
When you learn that you have tonsil cancer, you may want to know about your prognosis -- an estimate of how serious your disease is and what it might do in the future. Things like your age, health, and whether you have human papillomavirus (HPV) could affect your prognosis.
- Are Nasal Polyps a Sign of Cancer?
Find out why nasal polyps usually aren't anything serious, and learn about the kinds of tests your doctor may suggest and the treatments that you may need.
- Yoga for People With Cancer
While yoga can't fight cancer, it may ease some side effects of the disease and its treatments. Learn how it could improve quality of life for cancer patients and survivors.
- How to Prepare for and Handle Hair Loss From Chemo
Though it's usually temporary, hair loss from chemotherapy can bring up big feelings. Find out about possible prevention, self-care, preparing for it, and hair regrowth after chemo.
- What Is Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer?
Anaplastic thyroid cancer is a rare and fast-growing disease. Learn what causes it and its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments.
- What to Know About Cancer and Anemia
Anemia is a common side effect of cancers like leukemia and colon cancer. Learn more about cancer-related anemia, including its causes, symptoms, and treatments.
- Cell Phones and Cancer Risk
For decades, there’s been a debate about whether radiation from cell phones could raise your risk of cancer. Find out what the research says, and learn some safer ways to use your phone.