Welcome to CURE's Annual Cancer Guide

A CANCER DIAGNOSIS CAN transform a person’s life in an instant. During this time of shock and disbelief, crucial treatment decisions must be made. Involving patients in the decisionmaking process is an important and welcome trend, because it incorporates their values and preferences in situations where there are no blackand- white answers as to which path is best.

This requires that the patient, family and friends be as informed as possible about the nature of the disease and the proposed care plan. Having the right tools and the ability to use them quickly and confidently can be quite a challenge, and not one that patients should have to confront alone.

The 11th edition of CURE®’s Annual Cancer Guide for the Newly Diagnosed, produced in partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS), CancerCare, the Cancer Support Community and the Patient Access Network Foundation, provides a framework for understanding how cancers are diagnosed and staged, and for coping with emotions that arise after a cancer diagnosis.

Treatments, and their benefits and side effects, are discussed, as are the rapid evolution of targeted biologic drugs and immunotherapies, and refinements in surgical and radiation techniques. Throughout the guide, survivors share advice on how to navigate the various phases of the cancer experience. A glossary of terms helps readers become familiar with the language of cancer.

Resources for a variety of situations and cancer types are also listed. The team of writers, editors and illustrators at CURE® magazine, along with their collaborators at the patient advocacy groups, have delivered a timely and useful handbook that offers proven guidance through a difficult time.

In this edition, we have added information on integrative medicine — a movement that is becoming stronger and more embraced by patients and the medical community. These approaches, which include acupuncture, yoga and meditation, are being studied with more rigor and offered in coordination with other medical care.

The guide also shares advice on how to communicate a cancer diagnosis and health updates to family members. The latest information about cancer in childhood is covered, as are the issues facing adolescents and young adults who develop cancer. This unique population experiences cancer types seen in both younger and older people, but faces them while transitioning into adulthood, work life and family planning.

For more than a decade, CURE® has combined science and humanity to promote learning, awareness and discourse about the challenges of cancer and the opportunities to improve options for patients and their loved ones. Quarterly and special issues focus on specific cancer types and highlight rapidly advancing science, technology and research, accompanied by insights about the emotional, practical and financial aspects of cancer — all of which are interrelated.

A subscription to CURE® magazine is free for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers, as is the rich array of information we offer at curetoday. com, including breaking news, videos and podcasts. In our unique way, we hope to make cancer understandable, and to support patients and the loved ones who care for them through every phase of the journey.

DEBU TRIPATHY, M.D.Editor-in-Chief, CURE® MagazineProfessor of MedicineChair, Department of Breast Medical OncologyThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center