Information about cancer, treatment and side effects

We have a large number of resources that can be downloaded to give you easy to read information about cancer, treatment and side effects.

These resources are meant to complement the information you receive from your health care professionals. Each resource is reviewed regularly by cancer experts so you can receive the most up to date information.

If you, your family or friend are affected by cancer and would like a hard copy of any of these resources, please call Cancer Council 13 11 20 Information and Support line to order. For other orders please use the Online Resource Order form

Types of Cancer

Information to help you to understand how different cancers are diagnosed and treated, and how to find extra support.

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma

This fact sheet will help you understand more about adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC)

Understanding Anal Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about anal cancer

Appendix Cancer and PMP

This fact sheet will help you understand more about appendix cancer and pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP)

Understanding Bladder Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about bladder cancer

Understanding Bowel Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about bowel cancer, which is also known as colorectal cancer

Understanding Brain Tumours

This booklet will help you understand more about brain and spinal cord tumours

Understanding Breast Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about early and locally advanced breast cancer

Understanding Cancer of Unknown Primary

This booklet will help you understand more about Cancer of the Unknown Primary (CUP)

Understanding Cancer of the Uterus

This booklet will help you understand more about cancer of the uterus, also called uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, womb cancer, or cancer of the lining of the womb

Understanding Cervical Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about cervical cancer. This information is relevant for anyone with a cervix

Understanding Head and Neck Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about head and neck cancers, a general term for a range of cancers in the mouth, nose, throat and neck areas

Understanding Kidney Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about the most common type of kidney cancer - renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

Understanding Liver Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about cancer that affects the liver

Understanding Secondary Liver Cancer

This factsheet will help you understand more about secondary liver cancer

Gall Bladder Cancer

find out more about gall bladder cancer

Understanding Lung Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about lung cancer

Understanding Melanoma

This booklet will help you understand more about melanoma, a type of skin cancer

Understanding Mesothelioma

This booklet will help you understand more about pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma

Neuroendocrine Tumours

find out more about neuroendocrine tumours

Ocular Melanoma

find out more about ocular melanoma

Understanding Ovarian Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about ovarian cancer

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about pancreatic cancer

Penile Cancer

find out more about penile cancer

Understanding Primary Bone Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about primary bone cancer, also known as bone sarcoma

Understanding Prostate Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about prostate cancer

Understanding Rare and Less Common Cancers

find out more about rare and less common cancers

Understanding Secondary Bone Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about secondary bone cancer

Understanding Skin Cancer

This booklet will help you understand how the two most common types of skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) - are diagnosed and treated

Small Bowel Cancer

find out more about small bowel cancer

Soft Tissue Sarcoma

find out more about soft tissue sarcoma

Understanding Stomach and Oesophageal Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about cancer of the stomach and oesophagus

Understanding Testicular Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about testicular cancer

Understanding Thyroid Cancer

This booklet will help you understand more about thyroid cancer

Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about upper tract urothelial cancer

Understanding Vaginal Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about vaginal cancer

Understanding Vulvar Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about vulvar cancer

Cancer Treatment

Understanding Radiation Therapy

This booklet will help you understand more about radiation therapy, one of the main treatments for cancer. Radiation therapy is also known as radiotherapy. Radiation therapy uses a controlled dose of radiation to kill cancer cells or damage them so they cannot grow, multiple or spread.

Radiotherapy

A fact sheet for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to explain Radiation Therapy. Radiotherapy or Radiation Therapy is a common way to treat cancer.

Understanding Chemotherapy

This booklet will help you understand more about chemotherapy, one of the main treatments for cancer. Chemotherapy treats cancer using a range of drugs. Chemotherapy (sometimes just called chemo) is the use of drugs to kill or slow the growth of cancer cells.

Chemotherapy

A fact sheet for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to explain Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a common way to treat cancer, and works on your whole body by travelling through your body to kill the cancer.

Understanding Surgery

Understand more about surgery, one of the main treatments for cancer. Surgery is a procedure to remove cancer from the body or repair a part of the body affected by cancer.

Understanding Breast Prostheses and Reconstruction

This booklet is for women who have had, or are considering, a partial or complete removal of one or both breasts (mastectomy).

Understanding Clinical Trials and Research

This booklet will help you understand more about clinical research, with a focus on clinical trials. It provides an overview of different types of health research and outlines how to get involved in a clinical trial

Understanding Immunotherapy

This fact sheet will help you understand more about checkpoint immunotherapy, a treatment offered to some people with cancer. Immunotherapy is a type of drug that uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer.

Understanding Targeted Therapy

This fact sheet will help you understand more about targeted therapy, a treatment offered to some people with cancer. This is a type of drug that attacks specific features of cancer cells, known as molecular targets, to stop cancer growing and spreading.

Understanding Complementary Therapies

This booklet will help you understand more about complementary therapies which are used in combination with conventional cancer treatment

Side Effects

Treatment side effects vary depending on the type of cancer you have, the stage of the cancer, and the type of treatment you are given. The changes can be both physical and emotional.

Hair Loss

This fact sheet provides information on hair loss that may result as a side effect of cancer treatment. Any treatment which acts on rapidly dividing cancer cells can also affect other rapidly dividing cells such as hair follicles

Understanding Lymphoedema

This fact sheet will help you understand more about secondary lymphoedema, a possible side effect of cancer treatments. Lymphoedema is the swelling that develops when lymph fluid builds up in the tissues under the skin or sometimes deeper in the abdomen and chest areas.

Fatigue and Cancer

This fact sheet will help you understand more about fatigue, a common side effect of cancer and cancer treatments. Fatigue is when you feel very tired, weak, drained or worn out

Understanding Taste and Smell Changes

Learn more about the possible effects of cancer treatments on your experience of eating. Some treatments can change the taste and smell of your food, or the feeling of food in your mouth

Mouth Health and Cancer Treatment

This fact sheet will help you understand the side effects of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery that affect the mouth area

Understanding Peripheral Neuropathy

This fact sheet will help you understand more about the nerve condition known as peripheral neuropathy, which sometimes happens as a result of cancer or cancer treatment

Understanding Changes in Thinking and Memory

This fact sheet will help you understand more about changes to your memory and the way you think that you may experience as a result of cancer treatment. It provides suggestions about how to manage your day-to-day tasks and improve thinking and memory

Advanced Cancer

Advanced cancer is the term used to describe cancer that is unlikely to be cured. It may be primary or secondary cancer.

Living with Advanced Cancer

Advanced cancer is when the cancer has spread from the original site or has come back. This booklet offers general information about advanced cancer, what it is, how it is treated, what might happen and what support is available

Facing End of Life

This booklet provides information to help you understand more about the issues facing people who are dying with cancer, and covers the emotional impact of knowing you are dying, what might happen physically, and how you can prepare for death

Understanding Palliative Care

This booklet will help you understand more about palliative care (also called supportive care) for people affected by advanced cancer

Guides to Best Cancer Care

A lot can happen in a hurry when you’re diagnosed with cancer. The guides below can help you make sense of what should happen. They will help you with what questions to ask your health professionals to make sure you receive the best care at every step.