Cancer Booklet

With the advancement of medical technology, cancer treatment is moving towards personalisation, including cancer genetic testing. By analysing genetic variations related to cancer, more accurate diagnoses and targeted treatments can be provided for patients.


This book explores the relationship between genetic variations and cancer, as well as how to choose appropriate testing options. Gaining more knowledge will assist in discussing cancer treatment strategies with your doctor.


The book is only available in Chinese.


A New Chapter in Battling Cancer


A few decades before, lung cancer treatment remained an expertise in oncology. As understanding in lung cancer deepens, multi-disciplinary specialists begins playing vital role in the treatment of cancer, including pathologists, surgeons, clinical oncologists & internal medicine specialists, forming a powerful team dedicated to “tailor-making” the most suitable treatment plans for patients.

This book discusses diagnosis, treatment and latest knowledge of lung cancer. We hope this book helps in relieving anxiety of patients and their family, empowering them in the cancer journey at the same time.


Lung Cancer: Treatment


Besides medical specialists, oncology nurses, clinical psychiatrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers also form an indispensable support team in the journey of lung cancer. Offering aid for pre & post-treatment patients is vital in maintaining their ideal quality of life.

This book includes key points in the care of lung cancer patients, available social support and sharing by lung cancer fellows. We hope this book helps in relieving anxiety of patients and their family, empowering them in the cancer journey at the same time.


Lung Cancer: Holistic Care

This book explains incidence of colorectal cancer, local causes and symptoms, supplemented with analysis of different treatment types including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Key points for stomal nursing care and recovery are also included.


Colorectal Cancer

This book provides detailed analysis of breast cancer diagnosis, choice of surgery and adjuvant therapy post-operation. Key points for nursing care and health care are included. Key points for hereditary breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence are also included.


Breast Cancer

Liver cirrhosis is one of the causes leading to liver cancer; liver cirrhosis can be caused by different types of viruses, the most common of which in Hong Kong is Hepatitis B. This book illustrates different types of treatment for liver cancer.


Liver Cancer

This book illustrates risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment considerations of prostate cancer.


Prostate Cancer

This book illustrates symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options for stomach cancer, dietary principles for stomach cancer patients are also discussed.


Stomach Cancer

Nasopharynx is hidden deep in the nasal cavity, located above larynx and remains invisible by plain sight. Unless equipped with special equipment, even general practitioners are not able to examine the nasopharynx. This book illustrates the ways of early detection for nasopharyngeal cancer, and its treatment methods.


Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

This booklet illustrates trend of incidence for skin cancer, it’s respective prevention, symptoms, treatments, as well as myths and truths about skin cancer.


Skin Cancer

The human body comprises a mesh of networks made up by lymphatic duct and lymphatic node, with the function of circulating lymphatic cells to various tissues and organs battling bacterial/viral invasion. Yet when carcinogenesis occurs in these lymphatic cells, their growth becomes uncontrolled forming tumor. These tumors have a potential metastasizing to bone marrow and other organs. This book illustrates symptoms, diagnosis, staging and treatment methods for lymphoma.


Lymphoma

Lymphedema may seem to be a lingering shadow for most breast cancer recovering patients. You may start thinking about all possible ways to prevent it from happening before you could take a break from all the treatments you have just received. If it is unstoppable, you will still try your best to figure out ways to get rid of it.

Although lymphedema must have caused you frustration and it may not be completely curable, it is not life threatening. Hopefully the information in this booklet can help you increase the knowledge and treatment methods of lymphedema, giving you confidence to handle it but not being controlled by it.


Lymphedema

Primary brain tumor is not common, yet to many brain tumor may be a mystery and despair. In fact like many other cancers, early detection and treatment for brain cancer brings potentially 60% chance of cure. This book explains risk factors, diagnosis, staging and treatment of brain tumor.


Brain Tumor

This book explains risk factors, prevention and early detection and treatment for cervical cancer.


Cervical Cancer

There are more than four hundred new ovarian cancer cases each year in Hong Kong, mostly diagnosed after menopause with 51 years old the median age of incidence. This booklet introduces the risk factors, diagnostic methods, staging and treatments of Ovarian Cancer.


Ovarian Cancer

Thyroid cancers diagnosed in Hong Kong are usually found early, with the advancement of treatments, they are highly curable. Therefore the mortality of thyroid cancers is rather low in Hong Kong. However, due to the slow growing nature of the tumor, regular follow up is essential to prevent cancer recurrence. This booklet mainly introduces the causes, classifications, trends and treatments of thyroid cancers.


Thyroid Cancer

This book contains detailed analysis by senior medical specialists & dieticians on breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. This book covers incidences, causes, radiology and treatment for the above mentioned cancers, laying down guidelines for screening and detection at the same time.


Women related cancers

Massage manipulation (Tui-Na) is a non-pharmacological therapy, and is a crucial part of clinical prevention and disease treatment in Chinese Medicine.
Massage manipulation is generally suitable for treating an array of people in various groups, including the elderly, teenagers, children and women. With relatively milder side-effect and broad spectrum of application, massage manipulation could be viewed as a universal health-care method.
Massage manipulation combines treatment and daily health-care, with functions like stimulating the meridians, stimulating “qi” and blood, healing wounds, relieving pain and reconciling “yin”, “yang”, etc. From the perception of modern science, massage manipulation techniques of Chinese medicine have regulating effects on circulatory, respiratory, digestive, neurological and immune systems. Massage manipulation also helps regulating metabolism.
Acupressure, as one of the massage manipulations, operates by the principle of stimulating particular acupuncture points of the body and thus the meridians accordingly, ultimately achieve the effect of body function regulation and healthy energy support.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that application of massage manipulation is contraindicated at the location with tumors and wounds.
Manipulation at certain acupuncture points is also contraindicated for pregnant women, for instance, Hegu and Sanyinjiao.


Acupressure Health Conditioning and Cancer

What is the relationship between sugar and cancer? Sugar is not carcinogenic, yet long-term high sugar consumption will result in weight gain. Obesity is one of the risk factors of causing cancers. This booklet shares not only healthy eating habits, but also the sugar level of some common foods and drinks. It aims to encourage the public to eat wisely and maintain a normal body weight so as to reduce cancer risk.


Less Sugar, Control Body Weight

There are numerous causes of cancers, poor eating habit is one of them. It is believed that one third of the cancer death is related to the inappropriate food they ate. Artificial sugar, barbequed food, deep fried food, food addictive agents and food preservative increase the chance of having cancers. Eating more vegetables and fruits with more fiber intake can help preventing cancers as they contain a lot of anti-cancer substances while fatty or processed food should be avoided as much as we can. In short, people can eat whatever they want as long as they follow the main principle of food choice. There are some suggested diets for every day consumption and recommended recipes in the late chapters of the book for your reference.


Eating habit and Cancers

Radiotherapy is a common treatment to most cancer patients. It uses ionizing radiation to destroy cancer cells (rapidly dividing cells) with minimal injury to normal cells. Not only can radiotherapy cure or control the growth of cancers, it can also act as a prophylaxis and palliation purpose. Careful planning before radiotherapy is essential; it is performed by radiotherapists in order to increase the accuracy of the therapy.

This booklet talks about the invention of radiotherapy, its technology (2D. 3D-conformal), different types of radiotherapy used (Image Guided Radiotherapy, Tomotherapy, cyberknife), its main functions and precautions. Also the diet, nursing cares during the treatment. Nevertheless, it has listed the short term and long term complications when radiotherapy is used in different types of cancers.


Radiotherapy

Chemotherapy is commonly used to treat cancers. They mainly interfere with the replication and other normal functions of cancer cells, causing cell death and tumor shrinkage. However, both healthy and malignant cells will be affected by chemotherapy, causing a large sum of side effects and discomfort to patients during the process. Normal cells have a greater ability to repair minor damages than malignant cells, however, rapidly dividing cells like bone marrow, gastrointestinal mucosa and hair follicles are affected in a larger extent and may not be able to recover.

The main focus of this booklet is to highlight the side effects our body will experience during chemotherapy, from general to specific. Also it suggests how people can relieve the discomfort brought by those side effects.


Chemotherapy

With the perceptions of western medicine is “toxic”, many Chinese, especially the elderlies, like consulting Chinese Medicine doctors when they are sick. It is a controversial topic when it comes to whether Chinese Medicine is useful for treating cancers. Indeed, it is believed that Chinese Medicine alone cannot cure cancers but to stabilize tumors and promote overall wellness of the body. The fact is western medical technologies like operations, radiotherapy and chemotherapy plays a vital role in the early treatment stages of cancers, it helps destroying the tumors while Chinese Medicine acts as an assistant role. It is gentler and it helps to relieve the discomfort feelings brought by the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

This booklet suggests how Chinese medicine can be used to maximize the benefit of Western medicine. It talks in great details what kinds of Chinese medicine should be used to treat different side effects brought by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Some recipes are also recommended as a diet therapy for cancer patients.


Chinese Medicine and Cancers

Having a cancer patient in a family increases the burden to every family member. Some people choose to send their loved ones to hospital as they think better care can be provided there. However, it is better to take care of the patients at their own home as they would rather spend as much as their limited time with their families. Nevertheless, it can be stressful for the family members if they do not acquire the correct attitude and the knowledge to take care of the patient.

This booklet has rich information on the basic knowledge of nursing cares to a dependent patient. For example bed bathing, mouth caring, exercising, prevention of pressure sore, diet preparation, ryle’s tube feeding, toileting, etc. It can be a frustrating and exhausting job; therefore every family member should contribute and support each other. Most importantly, seek help when needed. There are many supporting groups and organizations in Hong Kong which can lessen the burden of the care givers and the information is listed clearly in the booklet.


Family

Patients who receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy often experience side effects like nausea, vomiting, mucosal ulcer, dry mouth, diarrhea or constipation. These side effects greatly decrease the appetite of patients, thus affecting their nutritional status. It is bad for their recoveries as they need energy to battle and protein to repair, therefore, we should make sure they are eating the right things.

Generally, a high protein and high energy diet is recommended, extra sweetness or sourness could be added to fit the taste of the patients. This booklet suggests a variety of healthy recipes with different functions (for constipation, edema, immunity, anemia, etc), to alleviate the discomfort brought by the side effects and strengthen the body as a whole.


Nutrition

Many cancer patients experience pain. It may be caused by the tumor itself, the invasion of nerve, organs or bone by the tumor, operations or radiotherapy. One common misconception about pain is “always avoid pain killers”; people take pain killers as their last resort to ease pain. They will not take pain killers unless the pain has reached an intolerable stage. This is in fact a very wrong concept because pain may distort normal social life, mood disturbance or even depression. Long term pain is a very frustrating experience and should be controlled by appropriate medications prescribed by doctors. Under the guidance of doctors, pain killer is actually a very safe and useful tool to help people live with their pain.


Pain

Chinese believe that different soup should be drunk at different times of a year. In summer, people get irritated easily and may damage heart; in autumn, people may have dry cough which damage lung; in winter, kidney is believed to be under more stress; in spring, more attention should be paid to liver. The theory behind is left for you to find out in this book, which is written by a registered Chinese Medicine doctor in Hong Kong, suggesting different soup with various functions for the four seasons.


Soup for different seasons

This book introduces thirteen daily preventive measures for cancer, involving doing exercise 30 minutes per day, limits consumption of alcohol, minimize intake of red meat and processed meat. This book also briefly introduces pros and cons for cancer screening, and analyzes conventional cancer screening guidelines for e.g. colorectal cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer etc.


Cancer Prevention, Detection & Screening
Hong Kong's population is expected to continue aging. By 2046, it is estimated that every 3 people in Hong Kong will be elderly. Elderly are at higher risk of developing swallowing difficulties, the number of people with swallowing difficulties and the demand for specialized food care are expected to increase. Therefore, The Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society collaborates with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service to produce the handbook for caregivers of patients with swallowing difficulties. This handbook not only provides diverse caregiving information to help individuals with swallowing difficulties eat with 'joy,' but also aims to alleviate the stress on caregivers and improve their quality of life.


照護食小冊子