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<b>Newly diagnosed with  Cancer?  Please start your education here. </b>

Vital to helping you understand your cancer and manage your care is keeping track of important phone numbers, treatment history, side effects, and laboratory results, such as your complete blood count (CBC). Use these tools to help organize this information so you can be an active participant in your cancer care. Keep them handy for use at home and bring them along to your doctor visits and other medical appointments. Empowered cancer patients tend to have better outcomes then those who feel like a victim. Let us help you become an empowered patient.
<ol start="1">
	<li>Important Contacts</li>
	<li>Health and treatment history</li>
	<li>Copies of reports – Blood tests, Pathology reports, etc</li>
	<li>Calendar</li>
	<li>Progress</li>
	<li>Questions</li>
	<li>Insurance</li>
</ol>
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<b>Understanding Cancer - An Introduction</b>

The word cancer refers to changes in the body’s cells that cause them to grow out of control. These cells can grow very fast and spread, eventually crowding out normal cells and damaging entire systems of the body.

Cancer is caused by both external factors (tobacco, infectious organisms, chemicals, and radiation) and internal factors (inherited mutations, hormones, immune conditions, and mutations that occur from metabolism). These factors may act together or in sequence to initiate or pro­mote the development of cancer. Ten or more years often pass between exposure to external factors and detectable cancer. Cancer is treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy, and targeted therapy.
<h4> Many Cancers are preventable</h4>
Please check out our section on preventable cancers <a title="Cancer Prevention" href="https://americancancerfund.org/prevention/">here</a>. Choosing a healthy life style can also diminish your chances of getting cancer.

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