According to the American Association for Cancer Research, while genetics and environment are major contributors to cancer risk, the simple decisions made each day often matter too. Whether you are picking up a pack of cigarettes, exercising, or eating lots of fresh vegetables, studies show the power to influence cancer risk is in your hands.
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Cancer is not one disease, but more than 200 that develop similarly. At the genetic level, something goes wrong with cell reproduction. Instead of dividing normally, cells that become cancerous reproduce wildly, producing abnormal growths (tumors). Tumor cells spread (metastasize) around the body, growing additional tumors. If tumor growth can’t be stopped, it interferes with vital body processes, and eventually, the person dies.
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You’ve always been calm and rational, a pillar of strength in times of adversity. Everyone has always said so. Of course, you’ve had some hard knocks in life. But they never got the better of you. You always picked yourself up and went on—to bigger and better things.
But that fateful afternoon, when your doctor folded his hands, looked you in the eye, and said, “I’m sorry. It’s cancer,” you crumbled in a way you never had before. So this is what panic feels like, you thought. The doctor’s lips moved, but you heard nothing. You seemed to be floating above the scene observing it, but disconnected from it, as though you were watching a TV show with the sound off.
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As if having cancer isn’t traumatic enough, getting it treated is fundamentally different from the way people other illnesses. With most other diseases, you rely on your family doctor, and perhaps a specialist or two. But cancer often involves a dizzying array of practitioners: your family doctor, one or more pathologists (who determine what kind of cancer you have), surgeons, medical oncologists (who prescribe and supervise chemotherapy), and radiation oncologists (who coordinate radiation therapy).
There are so many doctors to consult, so many opinions to weigh. Most cancer patients feel they don’t have enough knowledge to make good decisions about their treatment, which adds to the stress of their diagnosis. Deciding on cancer treatment can be daunting, in fact, maddening.
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While space limitations prevent consideration of specific cancers here, no matter what kind of cancer you have, the experts agree that a step-by-step approach is the way to go to evaluate what cancer treatment options will work best for you. Following are recommendations for how to evaluate cancer treatments.
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“People often ask what I would do if I got cancer,” says MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant recipient Michael Lerner, Ph.D., a founder of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Bolinas, California, and author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer. “Frankly, I’m not sure. I don’t think anyone can know for sure. A cancer diagnosis unleashes powerful unpredictable emotions. But here are my thoughts…
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