To understand what cancer is, and why there are so many different types, we need to know something about the body’s normal structure and function. We all know that our bodies are made up of many distinctly different parts. Our heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, brain, muscles, skin, etc all look quite different and all have completely different jobs to do to keep our bodies working.

Just as they all look quite different to the naked eye, so specimens from any of these looked at through the microscope can easily be distinguished from one another. Only a very small specimen is needed because the body is made up of millions and millions of very tiny units called cells. There are about 100,000 cells in a specimen 1mm across. The pathologist looking down the microscope can identify a specimen by assessing the types of cells in it and the way in which they are arranged. Cells which have different functions look completely different.

*27/40/1*

20 grams raisins

20 grams pine nuts

1 chunk of ginger, grated

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

100 grams chicken breast (preferably organic)

50 grams freshly steamed vegetables

75 grams brown basmati rice, cooked

1 handful black sesame seeds

In a food processor, blend the raisins, pine nuts, ginger and vinegar to a paste. Pour over the chicken breast, coating well, and leave to stand for 1 to 2 hours. Place in a tray and grill, brushing with the marinade as the chicken cooks. Turn and grill the other side, until the meat is cooked through, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, bake in a moderate oven or fry in a frying pan. When cooked, sprinkle the sesame seeds over the chicken. Serve with steamed vegetables (broccoli, Bok Choy or cauliflower) and brown basmati rice.

Chick Pea Vegetable Curry

100 ml vegetable stock

25 grams diced onion

1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 pinch cayenne pepper

50 grams cauliflower

8 green beans

40 grams tomatoes, roughly chopped

50 ml water

100 grams chickpeas, cooked

50 grams green peas

Simmer 50 ml of the vegetable stock in a saucepan with onion and garlic, until the onion is cooked. Then increase the heat to evaporate the liquid. Add the spices and dry-fry with the onion and garlic. Add a little more vegetable stock. Add the remaining stock, cauliflower, green beans, tomatoes and water. Cover and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chickpeas and green peas. Continue to cook until the curry is heated through and the peas are tender. Add sea salt if necessary.

*232/34/5*

Your skin may be extra sensitive to light because

•some chemotherapy causes sun sensitivity that lasts for a few weeks to months after completion of the therapy

•some medications, such as certain antibiotics, cause sun sensitivity

• radiated skin can become extra sensitive to the damaging effects of the sun

What If I Get Many Rashes Now, Although I Never Had Rashes Before?

You may tend to get rashes because of

• current medications

• changes in your immune system from your cancer or cancer treatments that make you react to

yourself

• changes in your immune system from your cancer or cancer treatment that make you more

sensitive to external agents

• emotional nervousness

What Can Cause Skin to Change Color?

Your skin may appear to have a different hue because of

• medication effects

• effects of change in diet

• effects of certain vitamins

• hormonal changes

• radiation effects to exposed area

What If Little Cuts and Bumps Take Long to Heal?

If your skin is more fragile, you may bruise or cut yourself more easily. Bruises and cuts may take longer to heal because of residual changes in your immune system that take months to normalize. In some cases, you are healing as fast as you did before your treatments, but you are more sensitive to changes in your body. Close monitoring of your cuts and bumps makes the healing process seem slow (“A watched pot never boils”).

*92/32/5*

With the growth of the population of long-term survivors and with the progress in the prevention and treatment of other problems seen after cancer, such as nausea and malnutrition, the issue of fatigue has moved into the spotlight. Research into its causes, prevention, and treatment is under way. Until answers are found, you must direct your attention to

•correcting all treatable causes (such as anemia, malnutrition, or depression)

• taking steps to prevent problems that cause it

• having your doctors adjust your medications, whenever possible

• developing a healthy daily routine that includes adequate rest

•adjusting to your limitations

Support services can help you adapt and adjust to your fatigue so as to maximize your overall recovery. Loss of energy, like loss of a limb, must be grieved. Adjustments must be made. All of this takes time, energy, and patience.

After a brush with life-threatening illness, you feel that your priorities have been clarified. Grateful for every day and all its gifts, you may regard impatience with your children as a mockery of all that you have learned about life.

There is a logical reason for your impatience. Children live in a self-centered world. Their unending demands and needs are accentuated by their impatience and short attention spans. Their coping mechanisms and priorities are immature, shaping their approach and solutions to problems. It takes energy-requiring insight and patience on your part to understand their viewpoint and respond in a mature, appropriate way.

You, as their parent, are trying to fulfill their basic physical and emotional needs while teaching them the subtleties of morality, patience, and virtue. Teaching children is a tough job under ideal circumstances.

After cancer your physical and emotional stores may be depleted. You may be dealing with your own anxieties and fears, which drain your energy in an unproductive way. You may be irritable and hypersensitive. You may just be overtired. The task of raising your children is waiting for you whether you feel ready or not.

An architect who had completed his cancer treatments was doing well except for fatigue and difficulty in concentrating. Usually soft-spoken yet strict, he found himself being slack on rule enforcement and yelling at his young children every time they whined or cried. He felt guilty that he was too tired to play with them and angry that they were making his life more difficult.

A Mercedes is a good car, but it will not run without gas and oil. This architect was a good dad who needed rest and assistance. His children needed someone who was physically and emotionally able to respond to their needs. Until the dad had the physical and emotional reserves, he had to share his fathering with other adults (friends, child care, relatives).