What is cancer?

Cancer is a general term for a large group of diseases, whose causes, characteristics and occurrence can vary greatly. There is no completely clear-cut definition of cancer. Cancer is particularly a disease of older people. Due to population ageing, we have seen an increase in cancer incidence.

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Alternative cancer treatments

There is no official definition of alternative cancer therapies or belief-based treatments. Alternative treatments involve therapies and methods that are not rooted in medical scientific knowledge and their effectiveness or safety has not been reliably established.

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Cancer and fertility

Cancer patients of childbearing age are often worried about their possibilities to have children after undergoing treatment for cancer. The issue is increasingly topical because nowadays a greater proportion of people who have cancer in their childhood or youth recover from the disease.

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Targeted drugs

An increasing number of anti-cancer drugs are based on specific abnormalities in the structure and function of cells in a particular tumour type.

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Diagnosis – It can’t be true!

Everyone has their own way of dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Very often it causes a crisis.

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When death is near

An incurable illness and the awareness of approaching death inevitably affect your feelings and thoughts.

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Palliative and hospice care

The aim of palliative care is to relieve symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life.

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Chronic cancer

Cancer cannot always be cured permanently, but the spread of the disease can be stopped or slowed down. This is called chronic cancer. Chronic cancer can progress very slowly or remain unchanged.

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Cancer genetics

According to current estimates, only about one in 10 cases of cancer is associated with hereditary predisposition. Cancer is not inherited.

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Cancer patients’ rights

Patients are entitled to receive good health and medical care and treatment that do not violate their human dignity, beliefs or privacy. Finland has a law on the status and rights of patients.

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