Everyone has a factory inside his or her bones that makes blood. Blood has red cells, white cells, and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of our body. White blood cells fight germs, and platelets plug up cuts so that they stop bleeding.

The process of producing blood is called hematopoiesis. Blood starts out as a stem cell–the parent cell of all types of blood cells. It then becomes either a lymphoid stem cell or a myeloid stem cell. Lymphoid stem cells become either T cells or B cells. Myeloid stem cells can become red blood cells, platelets, or a type of white cell. Each cell has specific duties. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the tissues of the body, and platelets help blood to clot when a blood vessel is cut. White cells come in several types and have a variety of responsibilities. …read the rest of this entry»

Hi kids! My name is Oliver and I’ll be your guide to cancer-centre.com. I know a lot about it, because I have a friend with cancer, too. Her name is Sara and she has leukemia. Sara and I used to play all the time together. …read the rest of this entry»

Michael:
Hello, and welcome to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network. I’m Michael Samuelson, your host, and today I’ll be talking to two cancer survivors, adults whose experience with cancer happened when they were children. Now, as a cancer survivor myself and a partner with the National Dialog on Cancer [Editor's note: http://www.ndoc.org/], I am pleased to be your host for today’s conversation.

What we’re going to do today is we’re going to talk about a number of things, and I am very excited to get going with this. We are going to talk about the social challenges encountered by survivors during childhood and adolescence. What it’s like to be a kid, a little kid, and to be a teenager with cancer. We’re also going to talk about concerns associated with conceiving or fathering a child later on, having known that you were indeed a kid with cancer. We’ll talk about where to go and what do you do when you feel the need for support. Are there groups for survivors of childhood cancer and what do our guests say about them? Also sharing experiences, again, this is not, it’s not like having cancer as an adult, and there are all kinds of different survivor’s groups for you.

We’ll talk about, in addition to interview forums like this one, how do our guests share their experiences, and why do they share, and what are the pluses and minuses of doing so? I think also, and this is what intrigues me is to find out the impact of childhood cancer on your adult relationships. What have you carried with you from going through cancer when you were small, and the real and perceived health risks that come with being a survivor of childhood cancer? Everyone thinks in terms of recurrence, but you have been able, or you have been subjected to situations where you’ve been thinking about this for a number of years. So, we’ve got a lot of things to talk about, but first let me go ahead and introduce our guests.

We’ve got Joe, 40, from Texas, and we’ve got Debbie with us, 35, from Vermont. And let me give you a little bit of information about our guests as we go into this. Joe, when you were just 2 years old, what your parents thought was a trip to the hospital for an appendectomy..

Joe:
It was an appendectomy. Yes, and a week later it became a Wilms’ tumor.

Michael:
So, in the course of what they thought was simply an appendectomy, it ended up that you had a cancerous tumor on a kidney. Is that right? …read the rest of this entry»

Symptom and Description Taste changes refer to changes in the way foods taste. Taste changes are commonly experienced by patients receiving therapy for cancer. Common types of taste changes include a loss of taste or having foods taste different than they used to. Sweet, bitter, and salty tastes can seem very different. Sometimes a metallic taste in the mouth will be present. Changes in the sense of taste can lead to food aversions (or dislikes), decreased intake of food, and weight loss.

Prevention/Management Making sure that you are able to eat properly and maintain weight during cancer treatment is very important. Being aware of issues with food intake and nutrition is important from the time you are first diagnosed.
If foods taste good, eat them. If foods don’t taste right anymore, avoid them.
Eliminate odors that may affect taste. This can be done by using a kitchen fan when cooking, using an outdoor barbecue grill to cook, using boiling bags, covered pots, or microwave ovens.
Cold foods are usually better tolerated than warm or hot foods. Try deviled eggs, chicken, ham, egg salad, ice cream, milk shakes, puddings, custard, or cheese.
If a metallic taste is present, you can avoid preparing foods in metal pots and pans—use glass cookware. The use of plastic eating utensils can also be helpful. With some types of cancer therapy, the metallic taste can be stimulated by the utensils used, not the food.
Chewing gum or sucking on hard candy such as Lifesavers can be helpful in minimizing a metallic taste.
Sometimes meats don’t taste good anymore. If this happens, poultry, fish, eggs, peanut butter, cooked dried beans and peas, and dairy products can be used as substitute sources of protein.
Marinate meat, chicken, or fish in sweet fruit juices, wines, salad dressing, or barbecue sauce to help improve the taste.
Use herbs and spices such as oregano, rosemary, tarragon, and lemon juice to enhance the taste of foods.
Try new and attractively prepared foods to help make the meal more appetiz-ing. It is a good idea not to try new foods before a treatment.
Sugar can be used to tone down salty foods. Try adding sugar to grapefruit juice or tomato sauce.
The flavor of starchy foods, such as rice or pasta, may be improved if they are not prepared with butter or margarine.
Tart foods such as orange juice, pickles, lemonade, vinegar, and lemon juice may be used to enhance flavor.

Follow-up You should notify your doctor or nurse if:
Taste changes prevent you from being able to maintain your food intake.
You experience other symptoms such as nausea or vomiting that interfere with your ability to eat or drink.
You lose weight unintentionally.

Symptom and Description Pleural effusions are a common problem in cancer, although pleural effusions can arise in people with other illnesses. A pleural effusion occurs when fluid collects in the space around the lungs. When this happens, the lungs cannot fully expand, and breathing may become difficult and painful. Pain, shortness of breath, and lung infections can occur if an effusion increases in amount or is left untreated.

You should report any of these symptoms to your doctor or your nurse:

• Shortness of breath

• The need to breathe fast

• A dry cough

• Chest pain, which may be slight or severe. The pain may be worse when you lie on one side or the other.

• Fever

A small number of people never have any symptoms.

Management If you have any of these symptoms, your doctor may want to see you. The doctor will order a chest x-ray film to see if there is fluid on the lung. If fluid is seen or suspected, a thoracentesis is done. This test removes fluid from the space around your lung. Many times, people breathe easier when the fluid is removed.

If you are short of breath or if breathing is difficult or painful, there are things you can do to help yourself breathe easier.

• Some positions allow your lungs to better expand. Sit upright, lean forward, and rest your forearms on a table.

• Sleep with the head of the bed raised or use pillows to raise your upper body. Some people are more comfortable sleeping in a recliner.

• Save your energy. Do chores early in the day (bathing, stair-climbing). Take time to rest and relax.

• The doctor may prescribe oxygen to help you breathe.

• Take your pain medication. Some medicines help to relax you and help you breathe easier.

• There is no special diet to follow. Small frequent meals (up to 6 meals per day) might be easier for you and may tire you less.

• Drink 2 to 3 liters of fluids per day, unless your doctor or nurse tells you differently.