Dictionary and Terms

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The following words/terms are things you will encounter as you progress through a cancer diagnosis.
We hope the explanations will help you understand your diagnosis and treatment in a more informed way.

Alopecia: Hair loss; when some or all of your hair falls out.

Benign: Not cancerous. Benign tumors do no spread to tissues around them or to other parts of the body.

Biological therapy: Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune system to fight infections and other diseases. Also used to lessen certain side effects that may be caused by cancer treatment. Also known as immunotherapy, biotherapy or biological response modifier [BRM] therapy.

Biopsy: The removal of cells or tissues for examination by a pathologist. The pathologist may study the tissue under a microscope or perform other tests. When only a sample of tissue is removed, the procedure is called an incisional biopsy or core biopsy. When and entire lump or suspicious area is removed, the procedure
is called an excisional biopsy.

Cancer: A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. There are several main types of cancer.

• Carcinoma is cancer that begins in the skin or in the tissues that line or cover internal organs.

• Sarcoma is cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels or other c onnective or supportive tissue .

• Leukemia is cancer that starts in the blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream.

• Lymphoma amd multiple myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.

Carcinama in situ: Cancer that involves only the cells in the tissue in which it began and that has not spread to nearby tissues.

Cervical: Relating to the neck, or to the neck of any organ or structure. Cervical lymph nodes are located in the neck. Cervical cancer refers to cancer of the uterine cervix, whish is the lower, narrow end [the 'neck'] of the uterus.

Cervix: The lower, narrow end of the uterus that forms a canal between the uterus and vagina.

Chemotherapy: Treatment with anticancer drugs.

Cryosurgery: Treatment performed with and insturment that freezes and destroys abnormal tissues.

CT Scan: Computed tomography scan. A series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body taken from different angles: the pictures are created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. Also called computerized tomography and computerized axial tomography [CAT] scan.

External radiation: Radiation therapy that uses a machine to aim high-energy rays at the cancer. Also called external-beam radiation.

Hyperfractionated radiation therapy: Treatment in which radiation is given in smaller doses twice a day.

Imaging tests: Tests that produce pictures of areas inside the body.

Implant: Radioactive material put in your body through a sealed thin wird, catheter or tube.

IMRT: intesity-modulated radiation therapy;A technique that uses a computer to deliver precise radiation doses to a cancer tumor or specific areas within the tumor.

Internal radiation therapy: Treatment in which a radioactive substance is put inside the body.

Lymphedema: A problem in which excess fluid collects in tissue and causes swelling. It may occur in the arm or leg after lymph vessels or lymph nodes in the underarm or groin are removed by surgery or treated with radiation.

Metastasis: The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. A tumor formed by cells that hae spread is called a "metastatic tumor" or a "metastasis". The metastatic tumor contians cells that are like those in the original, or primary, tumor.

MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; A procedure in which radio waves and a powerful magnet linked to a computer are used to creat detailed pictures of areas inside the body.

PET scan: positron emission tomography scan; A procedure in which a small amount of radioactive glucose is injected into a vein, and a scanner is used to make detailed, computerized pictures of areas inside the body where the glucose is used. Because cancer cells often use more glucose than normal cells, the pictures can be used to find cancer cells in the body.

Psychostimulatants: Medicines that can help decrease fatigue, give a sense of well-being and increase appetite.

R ad iation necrosis: A problem in which dead tumor cells form a mass in the brain.

Simulation: A process used to plan radiation therapy so that the target area is precisely located and marked .

Vaginal stenosis: A problem in which the vagina narrows and gets smaller.

Xerostomia: Dry mouth.