General Overview

Cancers are diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.

Below are links to more information on specific types of cancers:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Acute myelogenous leukemia
• Adrenal cancer
• Adrenal cortical carcinoma
• Adrenocortical carcinoma
• Astrocytoma
• Basal cell carcinoma
• Bladder cancer
• Bone cancer
• Brain cancer (Brain tumor)
• Breast cancer
• Cancer of the adrenal cortex
• Cervical cancer
• Chondrosarcoma
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Chronic myelocytic leukemia
• Colorectal cancer (Colon cancer)
• Endometrial cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• Ewing's sarcoma
• Gallbladder cancer
• Hairy cell leukemia
• Hodgkin's disease (Hodgkin's lymphoma)
• Kaposi's sarcoma
• Kidney cancer
• Laryngeal cancer
• Liver cancer
• Lung cancer
• Melanoma
• Mesothelioma (pleura)
• Nasopharyngeal cancer
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (adult)
• Oropharyngeal cancer
• Osteosarcoma
• Ovarian cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Living with prostate cancer
• Skin cancer
• Soft tissue sarcoma
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Stomach cancer
• Testicular cancer
• Throat cancer
• Thyroid cancer
• Tongue cancer
• Uterine cancer
• Vaginal cancer

InDepth

Below are links to in-depth reports on specific types of cancers:

• Breast cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Colon cancer
• Hodgkin's disease
• Leukemia
• Lung cancer
• Melanoma
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Ovarian cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Testicular cancer

Diagnostic and Surgical Procedures

• Biopsy
• Breast biopsy
• Breast reconstruction
• Bone marrow biopsy
• Bone marrow transplantation
• Bone scan
• Bronchoscopy
• Cervical cryosurgery
• Chemotherapy
• Colonoscopy
• Colon polypectomy
• Colorectal resection
• Colposcopy
• Cystoscopy
• Endometrial biopsy
• Fecal occult blood test
• Fine needle biopsy
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy
• Human papillomvirus (HPV) testing
• Hysterectomy
• Hysterosalpingography
• Laryngectomy
• Lumpectomy
• Mammography
• Mastectomy
• Mediastinal tumor resection
• Melanoma removal
• Pap test
• Oophorectomy
• Prostatectomy
• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test
• Pulmonary lobectomy
• Radiation therapy
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy
• Skin biopsy
• Small bowel resection
• Thyroidectomy
• Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)

Living With Cancer

Testicular cancer. Just the thought of it causes fear and apprehension. But thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, even patients with later stages of the condition have cure rates of 60%-85%. And, when diagnosed early, cure rates for testicular cancer approach 100%.

Cancer pain syndromes

Learn more about the different types of pains caused by tumors and treatment.

Cancer fatigue: it's more than just being tired

Find out ways to cope with and treat cancer fatigue.

Undergoing treatment can bring with it a whole host of new questions, including, for many people, “Will I still be able to have children?”

Now that childhood cancer survivors are living longer, researchers are beginning to learn more about the possible late side effects of childhood cancer treatments. Read here to find out more.

Coping with pain related to cancer and chemotherapy

Pain associated with cancer and chemotherapy can be relieved. Read here to find out how.

Cancer of the colon or rectum strikes about 130,000 people each year and kills nearly 55,000, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, when it's caught early, colorectal cancer is one of the most easily cured cancers.

Life after cancer

Read here to find out answers to questions you may have after ending cancer treatment.

Women who are treated for gynecologic cancers—cervical, uterine, ovarian, endometrial, or vulvar—are often caught off-guard by the impact that surgery, pelvic radiation, and chemotherapy can have on their sex lives.

When Lance Armstrong told his cycling fans that he had a good chance of a complete recovery and a return to cycling, he was right. Men diagnosed with testicular cancer can expect to be cured, according to Marc Garnick, MD, an oncologist.

Someone you love will probably be diagnosed with breast cancer. Your support will be an important part of her treatment.

Preventing Cancer

Acrylamide, a potentially cancer-causing agent, is present in high levels in a number of common foods. Read here to find out more.

Learn about the benefits and risks of taking antioxidants.

Your health insurance company touts its preventive focus. And you think your doctors know what they're doing. So, can you rest assured that you will get all the cancer screening tests, such as mammograms and Pap smears, that you need? That may depend, some experts say.

Like many young and middle-aged women, you may assume you’re immune to cancer. But statistics tell otherwise: among American women age 59 and younger, nearly 54,000 deaths occur from cancer each year. And while a woman’s chance of developing cancer between birth and age 39 is only 1 in 52, it jumps to 1 in 11 starting at age 40.

Early detection is extremely important to the prevention and successful treatment of colon cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the US and the third deadliest cancer worldwide. But when diagnosed at an early stage, before the cancer has invaded the colon wall or spread to distant sites, the chances of survival are much higher.

There is mounting evidence that diet is strongly linked to prostate cancer—the second most common cause of cancer-related death in American men.

Each year, over 211,000 women develop breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in American women.

Most young men are not aware that they may be vulnerable to testicular cancer. Yet, this cancer usually strikes men who are 15-35 years old.

Special Topics

On May 15, 2002, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Faslodex (fulvestrant) as an option for breast cancer therapy.

How might gene therapy eventually be used to help treat cancer?

A drug called Herceptin attacks a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer in a novel way. What promise does Herceptin hold for one of the most deadly forms of breast cancer?

A current focus in much oncology research is to identify cancer treatments which maximize effectiveness and minimize complications. Learn about the effectiveness of high-dose chemotherapy.

Read here to find out how childhood cancers differ from adult cancer, as well as information on some of the most common childhood cancers.

Primarily associated with women, breast cancer also occurs in men, although rarely. Find out more about these conditions and the incidence in men.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a person’s risk for developing cancer may be influenced by a combination of factors, including exposure to cancer-causing agents in the workplace.

In sperm banking, your sperm are frozen and stored so that should you decide to become a father at some point in the future, you will have that opportunity, even if the cancer treatment has affected your fertility. Learn more about this option.

True or False?

Some types of brain tumors have been increasingly diagnosed since the cell phone era began. Can talking on the phone really put you at risk for a brain tumor?

You may have heard about a possible link between hair dye and certain kinds of cancer. Studies on the association between hair dyes and cancer have generated mixed results.

"Chocolate is good for you” sounds like an obvious entry in the “too good to be true” hall of fame. But a significant body of evidence supports this statement. So chocolate lovers can indulge their cravings—to a point—without too much guilt.

Natural and Alternative Treatments (By Condition)

• Cancer prevention
• Cancer treatment