Understanding

CANCER

By Dr Gareth Rees

IMPORTANT NOTICE
This information is intended not as a substitute for personal medical advice but as a supplement to that advice for the patient who wishes to understand more about his or her condition.
Before taking any form of treatment YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR MEDICAL PRACTITIONER.
In particular (without limit) you should note that advances in medical science occur rapidly and some of the information about drugs and treatment may very soon be out of date.

Introduction

More than one in three of us will develop cancer. There are now roughly two million people in Britain who have had treatment for cancer, more than one in 25 of the population. The majority of these are long-term survivors. Attitudes are changing and for most people cancer is no longer the taboo subject that it used to be. People who have cancer now find it easier than in the past to talk about their diagnosis, in the same way they would about most other illnesses. Being able to share their feelings also makes it easier for their family and friends to offer support.
You may already be aware that advances in medical science have had a major impact on the outlook for people with cancer. Of course the news is not all good, but at the beginning of the new millennium the future for many cancer patients is now rather more hopeful than for many of those with other illnesses that traditionally have been much less feared. We are rapidly learning more about what exactly goes wrong when cells become cancerous and these discoveries are leading to exciting new treatments.
Cancer became increasingly common during the twentieth century. One reason is that there are more of us in the older age range and cancer tends to be a disease of older people. The other main cause has been smoking. However, although cancer has become more common, at the same time the chances of a cure have also been steadily increasing. Those people who can’t yet be cured are living longer and have a better quality of life.
Improvements have come about as a result of earlier diagnosis, better treatments, better supportive care and better organisation. Anyone who has cancer should now be able to expect ‘state of the art’ treatment as well as having access to wide-ranging support from both the NHS and many charitable and voluntary organisations.
Another improvement is the better knowledge that patients now have about their disease and treatment options. Patients are becoming progressively better informed in several ways. Good written information is available from a variety of sources (see ‘Further help’, page 96) and much is now provided routinely in most hospitals. In particular, a very wide range of useful booklets is available from CancerBACUP. Many patients are surfing the net. Justifiably, patients now tend to be less content than in the past to become passive partners in decision-making about their care. In addition, there are rapidly growing opportunities for patients and other lay people to become actively involved (‘user involvement’) in the planning and provision of cancer services, at both local and national levels.
This book does not deal with the causes of cancer nor does it discuss particular cancers in detail, but, where they and their treatments are mentioned, it concentrates on the more common types. Much more specific information is available from other sources listed under ‘Further help’ (see page 96) and, most importantly, from your own doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.
This slim volume aims merely to give a brief introduction to what is known about the nature of cancer, what can now be done for people who get it, and what treatment and care in general are likely to involve. It is worth mentioning that the study of everything to do with cancer is known as oncology – ‘onkos’ is the Greek word for lump.
Later sections assume that you have become familiar with some concepts and terms introduced earlier on. Thus, although much of the book may well be irrelevant to your own situation, you may never­theless find it most useful if you read at least the first three chapters as an introduction.
This book has been written for anyone who has cancer and their families and friends and other interested lay people in the hope that they will find it informative, helpful and easy to understand.