When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi review – thoughtful and poignant

A dying surgeon contemplates his mortality and his vocation in this moving, astute farewell

Cancer patient mother says she would have kept her baby ‘in my tummy’

Heidi Loughlin says she would not have chosen to deliver baby 12 weeks early to undergo chemotherapy had she known daughter would not survive

You don’t have to be vegetarian to think twice about processed meat. At least eating fish is good for you

The World Health Organisation found there was enough evidence to say that salted, cured, fermented or smoked meats were indeed carcinogenic

How crowdfunding became a lifeline for cancer patients struggling with debt

Medications and treatments in the US are some of the most expensive in the world and people are increasingly turning to other options to help pay for it

We cured your mother’s cancer, but your love fixed her broken heart

This Christmas I’d like to write a letter to the daughter of one of my patients – because I could cure her mother’s cancer but only she could ease the greatest pain

Cancer is political – as the argument about its causes shows

New research suggests that environmental factors are responsible for the huge majority of cancers; but opposing studies suggest it’s down to genetics and bad luck. Which you believe may depend on your own philosophy

Should acupuncture be used more widely in the NHS?

A growing body of healthcare practitioners believe acupunture should be offered routinely for more conditions including pain in labour and cancer

Study: pregnant women with cancer can be treated without harming fetus

Chemotherapy and other treatments did not adversely affect the health of their baby when compared with those born to mothers without cancer

Like Jackie Collins, I kept my cancer diagnosis a secret – and I don’t regret it

Keeping her illness from her sister Joan must have been one of the hardest decisions Jackie Collins had ever had to make – I did the same to protect my parents

‘What’s a uterus?’ Health illiteracy could be the death of us

As a doctor I meet women who believe gynaecological cancer can be caused by promiscuity, and people who don’t know how to take their pills. Education is the remedy

Gynaecological cancer: ‘women are literally dying of embarrassment’

If my patient had come a few months ealier, she would have been cured with a simple operation

Stigma around gynaecological cancer stopping women from visiting GP

One in five wrongly believe womb and ovarian cancers are linked to promiscuity, Eve Appeal poll reveals

Is it time to hit the booze before NHS cuts really kick in? – cartoon

Even drinking very small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of cancer

The harm doctors do when patients are labelled ‘anxious’

Doctors are often too quick to label patients ‘anxious’ without considering the harm this can do to their care. We need to put ourselves in their shoes

My wife’s £10,000 bill for cancer treatment makes me appreciate the NHS

Faced with the huge cost of vital healthcare in South Africa, I’ve realised how lucky we are to have the NHS in the UK. We must fight to protect it