If you are a patient remember always to discuss your concerns with your physician who will be able to provide you with the information which most relevant to you. This guide may be of interest to you but discuss your information needs with your doctor first. Hyperlinks to other documents on the InterNet have been included so that readers can have ready access to more detailed information about specific cancers. The first chapter of this guide introduces childhood cancers, the second summarises adult cancers. If you are new to the world of oncology you may already have encountered many new medical terms, some of which are dealt with in chapter 3.
Many medical terms can seem complex and intimidating at first.
The subsequent chapter of the guide introduce the main systems of the body, again with an emphasis on medical terminology and cancer. A group of tissues that carries out a specific function is called an organ. A system is a collection of organs that perform specialist functions. As you build up your medical vocabulary you may well find it useful to have access to a medical dictionary, and an illustrated guide to anatomy and physiology might be useful. The chapters about the body's systems have a similar structure.