For early-stage breast cancer, doctors generally recommend surgery to remove the tumor. Some women can choose between two types of surgery: a lumpectomy or mastectomy, although lumpectomy is not always a recommended option. To help women talk with their doctors about this decision, Cancer.Net spoke with Julie Gralow, MD.

Vitamin D is one of several nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy. It may also play a role in reducing the risk of cancer, and several research studies are exploring this link. Cancer.Net talked with Richard Goldberg, MD, to learn more about current research on vitamin D and what people should know.

To help oncologists integrate clinical trials into their practice, the American Society of Clinical Oncology recently made recommendations for the minimum standards and exemplary attributes of clinical trial sites. To learn what patients should know about exemplary clinical trial sites, Cancer.Net talked with Richard L. Schilsky, MD, in 2008. This article was updated in 2012.

A placebo is an inactive drug or treatment in a clinical trial and is often referred to as a “sugar pill.” A placebo-controlled trial compares a new treatment with a placebo; people who receive a placebo are called the control group. The use of placebos in cancer clinical trials is rare. Cancer.Net talked with Richard L. Schilsky, MD, in 2008 to learn more about the emerging use of placebos in cancer clinical trials. This article was updated in 2012.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. ASCO and Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) recently developed a decision aid tool to help people with NSCLC who have had surgery talk with their doctor about whether to have chemotherapy after surgery. Adjuvant therapy is additional treatment given after surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence (return of cancer after treatment). To learn more about this tool, Cancer.Net talked with two people who helped develop it: Christopher Azzoli, MD, and John Strawn, MD. Dr. Azzoli is a medical oncologist on the ASCO Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Expert Panel, and Dr. Strawn is a patient representative on the panel.

ASCO member Evan J. Lipson, MD, launched a website that offers people with cancer and their families an opportunity to record and preserve audio interviews as a way to share their personal stories with others. Here, Cancer.Net talks with Dr. Lipson to learn more about why he created this website, SeizetheDays.org.

The oncology community is focusing more attention on the differences in the occurrence, frequency, and survival of cancer of different populations in the United States. These populations may include members of minority populations, older adults of any race or background, and those who are poor or geographically isolated. Here, Cancer.Net talks with Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, to learn more about health disparities in cancer.

Cancer is the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults age 15 to 39. An estimated 70,000 people in this age group are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year. And, while much progress has been made in the fields of cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, survival rates in 17 of the 23 types of cancers in older adolescents and young adults have not improved since 1990 and, in most of these, since 1975.

To improve cancer care for people in this often-overlooked age group, LIVESTRONG and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) have partnered to launch Focus Under Forty. It is an education curriculum for doctors, designed to build awareness and provide training to address the challenges in treating older adolescent and young adult patients with cancer.

Cancer.Net talks with Archie Bleyer, MD, to learn more about the need for an initiative like this.

Physical therapists are valuable members of the cancer care team. To explain their role, Cancer.Net welcomes Jean O'Toole, PT, MPH, CLT-LANA who has 40 years of experience in physical therapy and has worked at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston since 1992. She has a particular interest and experience in physical therapy for people with cancer.