When most people think about the cancer treatment process and the challenges it poses, they’re drawn to the most obvious, visible symptoms: nausea, weight loss, general weakness, and of course, hair loss. But while these side effects may be the most obvious, they’re not always the most significant – in fact, one of the most problematic side effects for many patients is fatigue. Fatigue is a very common side effect for both cancer and many cancer treatments, and it can be discouraging to experience it during the treatment process. At Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, we want to help you thrive during and after cancer treatment – and that means addressing cancer-related fatigue when it comes up.

Causes of Cancer-Related Fatigue

Fatigue during the treatment process can come from virtually anywhere. Some causes are a direct physiological result of the treatment: anemia, for example, is a common side effect of chemotherapy that can leave you feeling down. Cancer treatments can also often affect appetite, causing patients to eat less and develop fatigue as a result.

Other causes may be less clear-cut. Many cancer treatments and the medications that come with them can disrupt sleep cycles, making it difficult for a patient to get a good night’s rest. On another level, depression is a common side effect of treatment, which can affect mood, energy levels, appetite, and overall emotional well-being.

Managing Cancer-Related Fatigue

Perhaps the most important part of dealing with cancer-related fatigue is acknowledging and accepting it for what it is. At the end of the day, it makes sense that you feel exhausted – you’re fighting one of the most difficult battles that a person can face in life. Fighting cancer is hard, plain and simple: on your body, on your mind, and certainly on your energy levels. It’s important to acknowledge and make space for fatigue, taking care to be as kind as possible to yourself along the way. And even more importantly, to bring it up with your cancer care team so you can start to manage it proactively.

Contact Your Scottsdale, AZ Cancer Treatment Center

Treating cancer is a long and difficult process, but with the right oncology center, cancer care team, and cancer treatment, you can beat cancer and return to a normal, healthy life. At Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, we’ve helped countless patients throughout the Scottsdale and greater Phoenix area overcome their cancer through noninvasive treatments – and if you’ve been recently diagnosed with cancer, we’d love to do the same for you. Call us today at one of our 6 cancer treatment centers to schedule a consultation and find out how we can help you beat cancer. Together, we’ll help you reclaim the health and the normalcy you deserve.

July is an important month for us at Palo Verde Cancer Specialists – and even though the Arizona heat can get stifling, we’re still always happy to see July come around. That’s because July is Sarcoma Awareness Month, which supports an important cause: gaining awareness for sarcoma, a rare cancer of the nerves, muscles, joints, bones, and fat. Unlike more well-known cancers like breast cancer, there’s less public awareness around sarcoma, and it often isn’t diagnosed until it’s already advanced and spread to other parts of the body. Raising awareness is critical to helping more people detect sarcoma and begin treatment early, when chances of success are higher, and Sarcoma Awareness Month can help to reach that goal.

Awareness for a Forgotten Cancer

Sarcoma is exceedingly rare, with one of the most aggressive forms of the cancer (Rhabdomyosarcoma, or rhabdo for short) affecting just 6 in a million children. Because of its rarity, there’s little public awareness or research money devoted to treating or curing sarcoma, leading some to call it a “forgotten cancer.” But while it may be rare, for those affected and their families, it’s still a critically impactful disease – and that means raising awareness is important.

Sarcoma Awareness Month is even more important, because unlike many other cancer awareness months, Sarcoma Awareness Month has yet to be officially recognized by the US government. At a 2007 summit of connective tissue oncology, a number of sarcoma advocates and non-profits agreed that July should be designated Sarcoma Awareness Month and have been fighting since then to secure an official congressional designation – but even after 10 years of work, the government has yet to officially recognize an awareness month for this little-known disease. This makes it even more important for us to honor July as Sarcoma Awareness Month and raise the profile of sarcoma. If you’d like to do your part in raising awareness for sarcoma, we encourage you to sign the petition for Sarcoma Awareness Month.

Schedule a Consultation with Your Phoenix, AZ Cancer Treatment Center

We hope you’ll take the month of July to learn a little more about sarcoma, its symptoms, and what you can do to prevent it – and if the cause seems important to you, as we hope it does, we encourage you to sign the petition. While sarcoma is a rare condition, cancer as a whole is exceedingly common. At Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, we’re proud to provide world-class treatments for almost every form of cancer, and if you or a loved one have been diagnosed, we’re here to help. Don’t wait: schedule an appointment today for a consultation or second opinion. We’ll work with you to create a treatment plan that works for your situation, helping you start down the path to beating cancer and reclaiming a normal, healthy life.

At Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, June is one of our favorite months of the year – yes, even despite the Arizona heat. That’s because besides ushering in high summer, the first Sunday in June is National Cancer Survivors Day. As a world-class cancer treatment center, this day holds special significance for us, and we’re always excited to celebrate it as the summer months approach.

Modern Cancer Treatment is More
Effective Than Ever

In the early days after cancer was discovered and recognized as a condition, a diagnosis was almost the same as a death sentence. There was a stigma on cancer diagnosis and almost nothing was known about the disease or how to treat it, which meant that people suffering from cancer had few options for moving forward. Thankfully, the picture has changed greatly since then.

Today, advances in medical technology allow us to treat cancer more successfully and more conveniently than ever before. Cancer treatment surgery is more effective than ever, and radiation therapy treatments mean patients can beat cancer without every having to go under anesthesia – or even experience side effects. Mortality rates from nearly all forms of cancer continue to decrease and treatment success rates improve, and at Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, we’re proud to be a part of that improvement.

We take pride in providing world-class cancer treatments to patients all over the greater Phoenix area, and we’re incredibly proud to say that many of our past patients know what it means to fight cancer and win – giving them real cause to celebrate on National Cancer Survivors Day.

Contact Your Cancer Treatment Experts in Phoenix, AZ

This June, we encourage you to reflect on how cancer may have touched your life or the lives of those you love – and how much more possible it is to be a cancer survivor instead of another statistic. And if you or a loved one are currently battling cancer, we want to help you achieve the dream of being a cancer survivor. Don’t wait: schedule an appointment for a consultation with Palo Verde Cancer Specialists today. We’ll work with you to find a treatment method that suits your needs and your lifestyle, and because our technology allows us to treat cases that other centers can’t, we’re always happy to provide a second opinion on your treatment recommendation. Let’s work together to make sure that as many people as possible get to find out what it means to be a cancer survivor – and eventually, to make the thought of dying from cancer a thing of the past.

A cancer diagnosis is a life-changing shock: no matter who you are or what your diagnosis, it’s a moment that changes your life forever. For most people it’s a scary time, and it can dig up a host of difficult emotions. But eventually, the shock will die down – and as strange as it may seem, you need to find ways of living with the fight against cancer; of making it livable. At Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, our mission is to provide world-class cancer treatment to patients throughout the Phoenix area – but beyond just helping you beat cancer, we want to make the process easier for you. Here are a few steps you can take for dealing with cancer in a therapeutic, productive, and nurturing way.

Meditation

Meditation has been practiced in the great religious traditions of the East for millennia, but it’s starting to gain a foothold in modern western culture as well. More and more everyday people are discovering the far-reaching benefits of a meditation practice, and an increasing body of scientific literature is demonstrating just how powerful meditation can be. In fact, one meta-analysis of 29 clinical studies on mindfulness meditation found that daily meditation can a positive effect on psychological well being as strong as starting an antidepressant. This makes meditation a powerful tool for coping with the stresses of fighting cancer.

Therapeutic Pets

Another unconventional approach to healing that’s been gaining more traction in the medical community is therapy pets. Having an animal companion isn’t just good for company, but more and more research is showing it can have a tangible effect on mental well being and even on the speed of your recovery. While dogs are the most common therapy animal, there’s no reason a loving cat, bird, or even a pet fish couldn’t help you deal with the difficulties of cancer.

Exploring Spirituality

Religious belief is generally declining in the West, but few things can open a door to spiritual belief quite like facing one’s own mortality. Even if you’ve never been particularly religious, it might be worth it to start exploring your own spiritual or religious beliefs and experience. It’s important to note that spirituality doesn’t have to come from the pulpit – while many people draw strength from a spiritual community like a church or mosque, it’s just as valid to draw spiritual support from communing with nature or deep meditation. A spiritual practice may help you see the cancer treatment process in a different light, giving you a more grounded perspective for facing the trials of the day to day.

Schedule a Consultation with Your Phoenix, AZ Cancer Treatment Center

These ideas may help you find a way to make the fight against cancer a little more livable, but it’s important to remember that they’re never a substitute for high-quality cancer treatment. If you still haven’t decided what method you’re going to use to treat your own cancer, the team at Palo Verde Cancer Specialists would be happy to help. We can use radiation therapy to provide a non-surgical, non-invasive treatment option for almost any form of cancer – and we’re always happy to provide a second opinion on your treatment recommendation. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at one of our six Phoenix, AZ cancer treatment facilities. We’ll help you choose a treatment that helps you get well without putting undue stress on your body, mind, and soul.

As a premier cancer treatment and care center serving the greater Phoenix area, we understand the importance of prevention and early diagnosis in cancer treatment – and that’s what makes May such a special month. May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and as skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, knowing the early signs is critical to improving your long-term chances of detecting, treating, and beating skin cancer. At Palo Verde Cancer Specialists, we’re committed to the health of our patients and the community of Phoenix – and spreading awareness of the warning signs of skin cancer is the best way to fight it.

Risk Factors for Skin Cancer

Before learning the warning signs, it’s good to get an understanding of what causes skin cancer so you can better understand your own risk. Chiefly, skin cancer is caused by long-term, cumulative exposure to the harsh UV rays in sunlight. Over time, these rays damage the DNA in your skin cells, and if that damage passes a certain threshold, it can morph into skin cancer. While you may think skin cancer is only something that lifelong sun worshippers deal with, the truth is, almost anyone can get it. While skin cancer will be more common in those who regularly expose their skin to sunlight without sunscreen for long periods of time, even small amounts of exposure to sunlight can, over time, build up and cause skin cancer.

Warning Signs of Skin Cancer

For the most part, skin cancer will prevent itself as a blemish, bump, or spot on the skin that may look similar to a mole or a wound. Non-melanoma skin cancers often take the form of an open sore that doesn’t heal for weeks, sometimes with raised edges, and sometimes with a crusty, scaly covering or persistent oozing or bleeding. Persistent, mysterious warts may also be early stages of skin cancer.

Melanoma-type skin cancer has an easy acronym for identification. To identify a melanoma, just remember your ABCDEs:

• Asymmetry: Melanomas will usually be asymmetrical, with one side not matching the other.
• Border: The border of a melanoma growth will be scraggly, splotchy, or uneven.
• Color: Melanoma growths usually have multiple shades of color.
• Diameter: Any mole with a diameter of more than 1/4″ (larger than a pencil eraser) may be a melanoma.
• Evolving: If you notice a mole changing shape or growing in size, you’ll need to get it checked out.

Schedule an Appointment with Your Phoenix, AZ Cancer Treatment Specialists

Skin cancer of any form can be dangerous, but if it’s caught early and treated early on, it’s usually fairly simple to treat skin cancer. Knowing the signs and performing regular self-checks for skin cancer is the best way to spot cancers before they develop in severity, giving you the best chance of beating cancer in the long run. Feel free to reach out to us at our contact page if you have more questions about how to spot skin cancer, and if you or a loved one are every diagnosed with skin cancer or any other cancerous condition, we encourage you to schedule an appointment at one of our 6 cancer treatment facilities. We’ll work with you to design a comprehensive treatment that works with your lifestyle and helps you overcome cancer in a way that works for you. We hope you’ll take advantage of National Skin Cancer Awareness Month to learn the early signs of skin cancer, check yourself regularly, and safeguard your health in the long term.

At Palo Verde Cancer Center, we’re proud to provide world-class cancer treatment to patients throughout the greater Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, and Payson areas in our 6 state-of-the-art cancer treatment facilities. But while we focus on helping patients overcome cancer of any type or stage, the truth is, the best way to fight cancer is to prevent it entirely. That’s why February is so important to us: February is National Cancer Prevention Month, and we think it’s an incredibly important cause. Taking the steps within your power to prevent developing cancer is the best approach to keeping yourself healthy over the entire course of your life, and there are a number of steps you can take to prevent cancer.

Steps You Can Take to Prevent Cancer

While we use the term “cancer” to talk about the disease in general, in reality, there are a wide variety of cancerous conditions, and each condition has its own specific set of steps for prevention. That said, there are simple things you can do to bring your overall risk of developing cancer down. Follow these simple tips to minimize your risk of cancer and help keep yourself healthy throughout your entire life:

• Maintain a Healthy Diet: Food is critical to your bodily health, and that includes preventing cancer. Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet that’s low in sugar, fat, and carbohydrates while including many fruits and vegetables is a great way to minimize your general risk of cancer.
• Exercise Regularly: Exercise helps keep your heart, cardiovascular system, and brain healthy, and it also minimizes your risk for cancer. Get regular cardiovascular and muscular exercise to keep yourself healthy and prevent cancer.
• Avoid Alcohol & Tobacco: While alcohol directly causes liver cancer and tobacco directly causes mouth, throat, and lung cancer, they both can increase your risk of developing cancer in general. Avoid any alcohol and tobacco products to give yourself the best chance of avoiding cancer entirely.
• Regular Screenings & Appointments: Short of outright prevention, the best way to fight cancer is to diagnose and treat it early. Maintaining a regular schedule of preventative screenings gives you the best chance of discovering cancer early on, when it’s easier to treat. This increases the likelihood that treatment will be effective and gives you the best shot at beating cancer in the long run.

Schedule an Appointment with Your Phoenix, AZ Cancer Treatment Center

It’s never too late to start down the path of cancer prevention, and there are steps you can take to minimize your risk no matter what stage of life you are. We hope you found these tips informative, and we encourage you to take February as a chance to consider the risks of cancer in your own life and take steps to reduce it. But prevention isn’t the only solution to cancer, and if you or a loved one have recently been diagnosed, the treatment team at Palo Verde Cancer Specialists is here to help. We’re proud to have helped countless patients overcome cancer, reclaiming a healthy, normal life, and we’d be thrilled to do the same for you. If you’d like to learn more about us or our services, we encourage you to call us today at one of our offices – and if you’d like to schedule an appointment for a consultation or second opinion, just reach out to us at our contact page. We hope to hear from you soon, and we wish you a happy National Cancer Prevention Month!

While you may be thinking of coloring eggs and consuming large chocolate bunnies for the upcoming holiday, we’ve been focused on getting the word out about another important holiday – Kidney Cancer Awareness Month. During March, we want to spread the word about the signs and treatments for kidney cancer that are now available. Kidney cancer is one of the ten most common forms of cancer for both women and men, especially for older adults. Early diagnosis is so important to successfully treating the disease.

About Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer affects mostly older people, with the average diagnosed age being 64. Men have a higher risk than women. Kidney cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control in the kidney and form a growth or tumor. By far the most common type of kidney cancer is renal cell carcinoma when these abnormal cells form in the lining of the kidney’s tiny tubes (tubules). There are more than 20 types of cancer cells and several types of cancer. If left untreated, the cancer can cause kidney failure and eventually lead to death.

Treatment for Kidney Cancer

Effectively treating kidney tumors is challenging because of the natural movement of the tumor as you breathe and because studies show that kidney tumors require a high dose of radiation to be effective. Thankfully, Palo Verde Radiation Oncology Center offers a comprehensive array of radiation treatments that will give you the chance for the best possible outcomes. OurRadiosurgery System is an advanced unique technology that combines the latest in robotics, medical imaging, and radiation therapy technology to provide a comprehensive treatment for kidney cancer.

Contact Your Palo Verde Cancer Treatment Center

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, consider the treatment benefits of the Radiosurgery System. Give your Palo Verde cancer specialists a call today and find out more about kidney cancer and how it is best treated. Contact us today at one of our six convenient Phoenix area locations and speak to one of our caring professionals. Your first phone consultation is free, so don’t delay! We look forward to working with your to provide the best possible outcomes. And, please, spread the word of the importance of early detection during Kidney Cancer Awareness month!