Book excerpt: 'You have cancer' - three small words that have the power to change your life. They could render you, the patient, feeling like you no longer have control over your own body and circumstance. But you can regain charge of your life: through understanding the illness and how it will affect you. So It's Cancer: Now What? is your guide to that next step: what to do when you are diagnosed with cancer. With her trademark wisdom and warmth, medical oncologist and award-winning author Ranjana Srivastava demystifies the labyrinthine world of the illness. What is cancer and how is it treated? Why can't I have an operation? What should I eat and how do I manage pain? She equips you with the knowledge to make informed decisions on the daunting issues, such as finding the right oncologist, and to ask the bigger questions, such as how to break it to the kids.