Glossary

Adenocarcinoma
Cancer that starts in glandular tissue i.e., breast, lung, thyroid, colon, cervix and pancreas.

Adjuvant chemotherapy
One or more drugs used in cancer treatment after surgery or radiation to help prevent recurrence or metastasis.

Antiemetic
Medicine for curbing nausea and vomiting.

Benign
A swelling or growth that is not cancerous and does not spread and usually is not life-threatening.

Biopsy
A procedure in which tissue or fluid is taken and examined with a microscope.

Carcinogen
An agent that initiates or promotes cancer.

Carcinoma
Cancer that originates in the epithelial tissue, 80% to 90% of cancers.

Chemotherapy
Treatment of cancer with drugs. Certain types of cancers, such as Hodgkin's disease, and some non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and leukemias respond well to chemotherapy. Side effects are described in patients' informed consent forms.

Clinical trials
Treatment for cancer with new experimental drugs or procedures. You must give an informed consent. Clinical trials provide opportunity for treatment that may be more effective or not yet widely available. The National Cancer Institute provides information at 800-4-CANCER.

Estrogen receptor test
Test on breast tissue to determine if a tumor is sensitive to the hormone estrogen.

Grading
A way of describing the aggressiveness of cancer cells.

Hospice care
Care offering comfort, pain control and emotional support for those with terminal illnesses. It is usually provided in the home or in a special hospital or unit of a hospital.

Immunotherapy
Use of highly purified proteins to activate the immune system.

In Situ
Early stage cancer confined to the place it started.

Lymph nodes
Bean-shaped organs in the lymphatic system, the system that fights infections. Cancer cells can travel through the lymphatic system. Removing and examining lymph nodes near the tumor can help find the extent of disease and help classify tumors by stage.

Lymphedema
Swelling of a limb as a result of damage to lymphatic vessels or removal of lymph nodes.

Lymphoma
Tumor starting in lymphatic tissue (neck, groin or armpit).

Mastectomy
Surgical removal of the breast.

Melanoma
Highly aggressive form of skin cancer.

Metastasis
Spread of cancer from a primary tumor to other parts of the body.

Myeloma
Cancer of plasma cells in bone marrow.

Oncologist
Doctor specializing in cancer.

Palliative care
Therapy for relieving symptoms and providing comfort, rather than prolonging life.

Primary tumor
Site where tumor first appeared.

Prognosis
Prediction of what might happen in a specific case.

Rad
Unit of measurement that describes a dose or radiation absorbed by a body. The average American receives .36 rads a year, half of which comes from natural sources.

Recurrence
Return of cancer cells after remission.

Regression
Growing smaller or disappearing.

Remission
Disappearance of cancer symptoms.

Sarcoma
Malignant tumor arising in the bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue or muscle.

Stem cell
All blood cells arising in the bone marrow.

Survivor
Anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis, whether treatment is being received or has been completed.

Taxol
Cancer drug from the Pacific Yew tree used to treat ovarian cancer.

Tissue
Group of cells.

Tumor
A benign or malignant abnormal mass of tissue.