Many individuals undergoing chemotherapy and radiation cancer treatments are physically and emotionally affected by the experience.

In fact, according to the American Cancer Society, about 1.5 million new cases of cancer are expected in 2008. This is not including the “more than 1 million cases of basal and squamous cell skin cancers [which] are expected to be diagnosed this year.”

Loosing hair, feeling nauseated, and dealing with dry, cracked skin are just some reasons patients are unhappy with their personal appearance.

EmpowHer is bringing you the latest news on Senator Edward Kennedy's progress midway through his six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy for brain cancer.

To provide you the best health information possible we've compiled a list of the most important news and information on this story.

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In an e-mail to family and friends sent Wednesday, Vicki Kennedy said her husband has been exercising each morning before heading to Boston for treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. By afternoon, he's back at his family's compound in Hyannis Port.

BOSTON (AP) — Sen. Edward Kennedy, midway through six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatments for brain cancer, is doing well aside from some fatigue, his wife says.

In an e-mail to family and friends sent Wednesday, Vicki Kennedy said her husband has been exercising each morning before heading to Boston for treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. By afternoon, he's back at his family's compound in Hyannis Port.

Read more from The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.

Read full story

By Alan Mozes
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term buildup of radiation resulting from repeated emergency room X-rays and scans may be placing some patients at an increased risk for developing cancer, new research suggests.

THURSDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term buildup of radiation resulting from repeated emergency room X-rays and scans may be placing some patients at an increased risk for developing cancer, new research suggests.

At issue are routine testing procedures -- currently in widespread use in hospitals across the United States -- that emit a certain degree of ionizing radiation. Such procedures include both standard X-rays and more sophisticated CT scans, as well as nuclear medicine screenings where tiny amounts of radioactive material are swallowed and followed throughout the body.

By Randy Dotinga
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- A new review of existing research suggests that cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy avoid supplements with high levels of antioxidants.

Although multivitamins may be all right in some cases, even green tea and vitamin A or E supplements can spell trouble, said review author Dr. Brian Lawenda, clinical director of radiation oncology at Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Men with advanced prostate cancer that hasn't spread beyond the gland should receive radiation therapy as soon as the prostate has been removed, a new long-term study says.

"What we are showing today is that there is a significant difference between men who were treated with radiation and those who weren't," study co-author Dr. Gregory P. Swanson, of Cancer Care Northwest Spokane, Wash., said during a Tuesday teleconference at the American Urological Association annual meeting, in Orlando, Fla.

EVERY 13 MINUTES someone dies from breast cancer. But did you know that almost 100 percent of all government and private funding supports ways to fight breast cancer rather than prevent it?

That’s right. After 30 years of research and billions of dollars spent, we still don’t know the cause of this deadly disease. And while an abundance of funding is pouring in to advance mechanical forms of fighting breast cancer such as chemo therapy and radiation, there is basically no research being administered that looks at the cause of breast cancer.

WEDNESDAY, May 14 (HealthDay News) -- Tonsil and tongue cancers linked to human papillomavirus (HPV) are most responsive to current chemotherapy and radiation treatments, while those that express high levels of a growth factor called EGFR are the least responsive and most deadly, a new study concludes.