Patricia Corrigan

Facing cancer treatment is unnerving so during your chemotherapy or radiation build a team of people that can support and help you and take care of yourself to ease the stress. Use some practical methods to handle side effects and deal with the hair loss you may experience during treatment.

After you've been diagnosed with cancer, tests can provide important information that determines what sort of treatment will work best for you. So roll up your sleeve for that blood test, schedule that biopsy, and make that appointment for an imaging scan. No cheating allowed! You want the best information available from these tests so that you and your doctor can make the best treatment plan possible.

Research studies in all fields of medicine are known as clinical trials. These studies are conducted with an eye to the future, in hopes of finding safer or more effective methods to screen for, prevent, diagnose, or treat a variety of diseases. Realizing the scope of cancer trials Just how many clinical trials on cancer are there?

Cancer may change your life for the better in more ways than you've ever imagined. Some of the changes are obvious early on; others may be subtle and take a while to develop. Some changes may present themselves as options — changes that you may decide to accept or reject. Cancer goes away One obvious change, and an outstanding one at that, is that after cancer, your doctors will tell you that for now — and maybe forever — you no longer have cancer.

Chemotherapy, administered under the direction of a medical oncologist with assistance from angels otherwise known as chemo nurses, covers a wide range of drug regimens that all produce side effects. Most people undergoing chemotherapy do have to alter some aspects of their lives to accommodate the treatments and the side effects, though many people continue to work and carry out most of their family responsibilities.

Radiation therapy causes hair loss only in the area being treated. For instance, if your lower body is being treated, you likely will lose pubic hair or leg hair. If your chest or a breast is undergoing radiation, hair on and under your arms will come out. If your head or neck is being treated, you likely will lose scalp hair, and you may also lose your eyebrows and eyelashes.

When you’ve been diagnosed with cancer and you’re going through treatment, you need not only help from your family and friends but from an entire support team of people, with your doctors at the forefront. Build your support team with the following people to help you manage all levels of cancer treatment: Med

Many forms of chemotherapy cause temporary hair loss, and radiation causes permanent hair loss for the body part treated. Losing your hair is an emotional experience, so you need to spend some time getting used to the idea of yourself without hair. You can also take some steps to care for your hair before it falls out and your scalp afterward: Before: Prepare yourself emotionally by deciding that a lack of hair will not cause your self-esteem to suffer.

Don’t panic and assume that since you’re undergoing chemo or radiation that you will experience every possible side effect. Cancer patients experience treatments differently, but most experience nausea and dehydration. Here are some tips for managing them: For nausea: Take your anti-nausea medications. Eat something before you get out of bed in the morning.