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With some cancers, people are given hormone therapy as soon as cancer is diagnosed, before any other treatment. It may shrink a tumor, or it may halt the advance of the disease. In some cancers, such as prostate cancer, hormone therapy helps ease the painful and distressing symptoms of advanced disease.

People often choose to wear wigs, scarves, or hats while or after losing their hair. If this is what you would like to do, pick them out ahead of time and start wearing them before your hair is completely gone.

Heat therapy may help shrink tumors by damaging cells or depriving them of what they need to live. Research studies are underway to determine the use and effectiveness of hyperthermia in cancer treatment.

To reduce your risk for infection, avoid people who are sick with contagious illnesses, including colds, the flu, measles, or chickenpox.

A family medical history helps to find out if relatives have an increased chance of developing specific types of cancer, how great the risk of cancer might be, and if genetic testing might be useful.

Laser therapy can be used to cut a very tiny area to remove very small cancers without damaging surrounding tissue. Lasers also are used to apply heat to tumors to shrink them. They are sometimes used with medicines that are activated by laser light to kill cancer cells.

Nearly all chemo medicines suppress the bone marrow. And that, in turn, causes a reduction in the number of blood cells. This raises the risk for anemia, infection, bleeding, and bruising. Here's what you need to know.

If you have mouth problems, eat soft, soothing foods (at cold or room temperature), and puree cooked foods in the blender to make them smoother and easier to eat.

Check with your healthcare provider to see if you can increase the fiber in your diet. If you can, try foods such as whole-grain breads and cereals, dried fruits, wheat bran, and wheat germ; fresh fruits and vegetables; and dried beans and peas.