Cancer education

Plain-language guides to your diagnosis and reports

Short, evidence-based explainers on the pathology terms, biomarkers, and mutations that show up in real reports — written and medically reviewed by Dr. Zubair Ali, FCPS & MRCP (Medical Oncology).

Editorial illustration of a pathology report with highlighted lines connected to labels for tumour type, grade, stage, and biomarkers
Cancer education · understanding your reports

How to Read Your Cancer Pathology Report: A Plain-Language Guide

Cancer type, grade, margins, lymph nodes, TNM stage, and biomarkers — what each part of a pathology report means, with a fictional worked example.

Editorial illustration of two ribbons travelling side by side toward a dawn glow, representing cancer treatment and comfort care continuing together
Cancer education · supportive & palliative care

Palliative Care Is Not Giving Up: The Truth About Comfort in Cancer

Palliative care doesn't mean stopping treatment or that the doctor has given up. Five myths, and what the evidence on early comfort care shows.

Editorial illustration of a young adult's silhouette with a rising line graph behind them, symbolizing the growing rate of early-onset cancer in people under 50
Cancer education · risk & early detection

Cancer Doesn't Check Your Age: What Young People Need to Know

Cancer is rising in people under 50 — an oncologist breaks down the myths young adults believe about their own risk, and the symptoms worth acting on.

Editorial illustration of a calm figure walking a treatment path surrounded by small glowing protective symbols representing well-managed side effects such as fatigue, nausea, and immune support
Cancer education · treatment & supportive care

Cancer Treatment Side Effects: What to Expect and How They Are Managed

What fatigue, hair loss, nausea, immune suppression, and appetite loss really look like during treatment — and how supportive care manages each one.

Editorial illustration of a five-minute timer next to a protective checkmark shield, symbolizing how a brief routine screening test protects against cancer
Cancer education · screening & prevention

Cancer Screening: Common Myths and What the Evidence Shows

Screening doesn't cause cancer, mammograms are usually less painful than feared, and many screening tests take only minutes.

Editorial illustration contrasting a chaotic cloud of viral misinformation symbols with a calm, evidence-based medical chart, representing cancer myths versus medical reality
Cancer education · myths & facts

Cancer Misconceptions: What the Common Man Gets Wrong

From "cancer is a death sentence" to "there's a hidden cure" — an oncologist separates the most common cancer myths from medical reality.

Editorial illustration of four breast tissue cells showing increasing HER2 receptor density across the 0, 1+, 2+, and 3+ scoring categories
Breast cancer · biomarkers

What Does HER2 Status Mean for Your Breast Cancer Treatment?

HER2 0, 1+, 2+, or 3+ on your pathology report — what each score means, how it's tested, and how it changes your treatment options.