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An endoscope is a small, flexible tube with a light and a lens on the end used to look into the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, colon, or rectum. It can also be used to take tissue from the body for testing or to take color photographs of the inside of the body.

Grieving is a normal response to a loss. The loss can include the loss of your normal daily routine, the impact of the diagnosis on other family members, and the financial impact of the diagnosis.

Genes that have alterations, or mutations, can cause cells to become cancerous. Some mutations are inherited and others are "acquired," happening by chance over time.

To boost your calories, add butter or margarine to puddings, casseroles, sandwiches, vegetables, cooked cereal, breads, and pasta. Add wheat germ to hot cereals, meat dishes, cookie batter, and casseroles.

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.

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.

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.