Cancer treatment side effect: Dehydration
Do you feel thirstier than usual? Are you experiencing dry lips or skin? These may be signs of dehydration.
Dehydration is a common side effect of cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation treatment can cause dehydration due to other side effects, like fevers, vomiting, diarrhea or excessive urination.
These treatments can increase the need for IV hydration due to increased fluid needs. Dehydration also...
4 common cancer pain management myths
Nearly half of cancer patients experience pain caused by the cancer itself, cancer treatment or factors that aren’t related to cancer. When...
Gynecologic oncologist: Why cancer patients should come to MD Anderson first
I didn’t always want to be a doctor. When I first started college, I was a double major in literature and biology. I thought I’d be a literature...
MD Anderson saved my life — and my adolescent daughter’s
Cancer doesn’t run in my family or my husband’s. Only one of my ancestors had it: my paternal grandmother died of lung cancer when I was 11. But she was 64 and a long-time smoker, so her diagnosis didn’t really come as a surprise.
What did come as a surprise was my own metastatic melanoma diagnosis in August 2013 — and my daughter’s metastatic osteosarcoma diagnosis just one year later. I was 42 when I learned that I had cancer...
What is lymphedema? Understanding this common cancer treatment side effect
Lymphedema is a common cancer treatment side effect that can cause swelling in a patient’s arm or leg. It may lead to discomfort, pain and...
Metastatic melanoma survivor finds hope in clinical trials
Joey Nelson has always loved the sun. “I sailed growing up,” he says. “Every Saturday we’d go and I’d get sunburned like crazy, not even thinking...
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor: MD Anderson saved my life three times
Statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be alive today. Since being diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 27, I’ve suffered two...
Skull base tumor surgeon: Why you should come to MD Anderson first
As a surgeon, I am motivated by the challenge skull base tumors represent — both their complexity and the impact that they have on our patients...
Liver cancer: What you should know
The liver is your body’s largest organ. It’s responsible for digestion, blood clotting and helping get rid of toxins. But unlike other organs...
Writing letters to strangers helped me manage my fears about my dad's esophageal cancer treatment
It was December 2018 when my family knew something was seriously wrong with my dad. An otherwise healthy 54-year-old man and avid tennis player...
3 nutrients cancer survivors should know
Overcoming cancer can bring a new perspective on life – and health. Your body needs nutrients to stay healthy and to limit the long-term side...
Vaginal cancer survivor grateful for MD Anderson
Mary Taylor thought she was experiencing pelvic pain due to endometriosis in early 2015. She never suspected it was a symptom of vaginal cancer...
Pencil beam proton therapy: What to know
Pencil beam scanning, also called scanning beam, is the most advanced type of proton therapy. Only a few millimeters wide (the width of a...
Dysphagia in cancer patients: What to know
The ability to swallow — or to eat and drink what you enjoy most without choking or coughing — is something that many of us take for granted...
Sarcoma and breast cancer survivor gives hope to other patients
Kay Atten’s dreams revolved around her four children. In 2005, her two sons and two daughters were on the edge of adulthood, and she wanted...