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Glossary of Cancer
Terms
Alternative
therapy: use of an unproven therapy instead
of standard (proven) therapy. Some alternative therapies have dangerous
or even life-threatening side effects. With others, the main danger
is that the patient may lose the opportunity to benefit from standard
therapy. The American Cancer Society recommends that patients considering
the use of any alternative therapy first discuss this with their
health care team. See also Complementary
Therapy.
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Benign: not
cancerous; not malignant.
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Biopsy: the
removal of a sample of tissue to see whether cancer cells are present.
There are several kinds of biopsies. In some, a very thin needle
is used to draw fluid and cells from a lump. In a core biopsy, a
larger needle is used to remove more tissue.
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Bone marrow transplant:
a complex treatment that may be used when cancer is advanced or
has recurred. This is also used as the main treatment in some types
of leukemia or lymphoma. A portion of the patient's or donor's bone
marrow is withdrawn, cleansed, treated, and stored. The patient
is given high doses of chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells. Then,
the cleansed marrow is given to the patient through transfusion.
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Bronchi: in
the lungs, the two main air passages leading from the windpipe (trachea).
The bronchi provide a passage for air to move in and out of the
lungs.
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Cancer: Cancer
develops when cells in the body begin to grow out of control. Normal
cells grow, divide, and die. Instead of dying, cancer cells continue
to grow and form new abnormal cells. Cancer cells often travel to
other body parts where they grow and replace normal tissue.
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Cancer care team:
the group of health care professionals who work together to find,
treat, and care for people with cancer. The cancer care team may
include any or all of the following and others: primary care physician,
pathologist, oncology specialists (medical oncologist, radiation
oncologist), surgeons (including surgical specialists such as urologists,
gynecologists, neurosurgeons, etc.), nurses, oncology nurse specialists,
oncology social workers.
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Carcinoma:
a malignant tumor that begins in the lining layer (epithelial cells)
of organs. At least 80% of all cancers are carcinomas.
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Carcinoma in situ:
an early stage of cancer in which the tumor is still confined to
the organ in which it first developed. The disease has not invaded
other parts of the organ or spread to distant parts of the body.
Most in situ carcinomas are highly curable.
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Chemotherapy:
treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often
used with surgery or radiation to treat cancer when the cancer has
spread, when it has returned (recurred), or when there is a strong
chance that it could recur.
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Clinical trials: cancer
research studies often include the testing of new drugs or treatments,
to compare them to current, standard treatments. Before a new treatment
is used on people, it is studied in a laboratory environment. If
lab studies suggest that a treatment works, it is tested with cancer
patients. These human studies are called clinical trials.
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Complementary therapy:
unconventional (unproven) therapies used in addition to standard
therapy. Some complementary therapies may help relieve certain symptoms
or side effects of cancer treatments. The American Cancer Society
recommends that patients considering use of any alternative or complementary
therapy discuss this with their health care team. See also, Alternative
Therapy.
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Computed tomography (Also referred
to as a "CT" or "CAT" scan):
an imaging test in which many x-rays are taken from different angles
of a part of the body. These images are combined by a computer to
produce cross-sectional pictures of internal organs. Except for
the injection of a dye (needed in some but not all cases), this
is a painless procedure that can be done in an outpatient clinic.
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Dosimetrist:
a person who plans and calculates the proper radiation doses for
cancer treatments.
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Gynecologic oncologist:
a doctor who specializes in cancers of women's reproductive
organs.
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Hematologist:
a doctor who specializes in diseases of the blood and blood-forming
tissues.
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Hemophilia:
hemophilia is a bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency in one
of the blood clotting factors. Hemophilia A (often called classic
hemophilia) accounts for about 80 percent of all hemophilia cases.
It is a deficiency in clotting factor VIII. Hemophilia A is a hereditary
disorder in which the clotting ability of the blood is impaired
and excessive bleeding results.
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Hodgkin's Disease:
an often curable type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
Named for the doctor who first identified it.
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Home health nurse:
a nurse who gives medications in the home, teaches patients
how to care for themselves, and assesses their condition to see
if further medical attention is needed.
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Hospice:
a special kind of care for people in the final phase of illness,
their families and caregivers. The care may take place in the patient's
home or in a homelike facility.
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Leukemia: cancer
of the blood or blood-forming organs. People with leukemia often
have a noticeable increase in white blood cells.
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Lymphoma:
a cancer of the lymphatic system, a network of thin vessels and
nodes throughout the body. Lymphoma involves a type of white blood
cells called lymphocytes. The two main types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's
Disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The treatment methods for these
two types of lymphomas are very different.
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Medical oncologist:
a doctor who is specially trained to diagnose and treat
cancer with chemotherapy and other drugs.
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Magnetic resonance
imaging (Also called MRI): a method of taking pictures
of the inside of the body. Instead of using x-rays, MRI uses a powerful
magnet and transmits radio waves through the body. The images appear
on a computer screen as well as on film. Like x-rays, the procedure
is physically painless, but some people find it psychologically
uncomfortable to be inside the MRI machine.
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Malignant tumor:
a mass of cancerous cells that may invade surrounding tissues or
spread to other, more distant areas of the body.
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Medical
physicist: a medical physicist is an individual who is
competent to practice, independently, one or more of the sub-fields
of medical physics, including therapeutic radiological physics,
diagnostic radiological physics, medical health physics, or medical
nuclear physics.
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Medical
technologist: a medical technologist performs a full range
of laboratory tests, assisting physicians with the identification
of diseases such as cancer.
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Melanoma:
a cancerous (malignant) tumor that begins in the cells that produce
skin coloring (melanocytes). Melanoma is almost always curable in
its early stages. However, it is likely to spread, and once it has
spread to other parts of the body the chances for a cure are greatly
reduced.
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Multiple myeloma:
multiple myeloma is a cancer of the body's plasma cells. Plasma
cells are normally present in the bone marrow and are responsible
for the production of antibodies when the body is dealing with infection.
Cancerous plasma cells (myeloma cells) build up in the bone marrow,
interfering with normal immune response and bone marrow production
of normal blood cells. These myeloma cells invade and damage the
bone, causing tumors (myelomas) to form. Myeloma cells then travel
to other sites in the body, causing further tumors (hence the name
"multiple myeloma").
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Nurse practitioner:
a registered nurse with a master's or doctoral degree who is licensed
to diagnose and manage illness and disease, usually working closely
with a doctor. In many states, they may prescribe medications.
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Nutrition expert:
an individual specially trained in nutrition. This person could
be a physician, registered dietitian, nutritionist, or nurse.
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Oncologist:
a doctor with special training in the diagnosis and treatment
of cancer.
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Oncology certified
nurse: a registered nurse with special education and training
in cancer care who has attained oncology nursing certification at
the basic level.
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Oncology social
worker: a person with a master's degree in social work
who is an expert in coordinating and providing non-medical care
to patients. The oncology social worker provides counseling and
assistance to people with cancer and their families, especially
in dealing with the non-medical issues that can result from cancer,
such as financial problems, housing (when treatments must be taken
at a facility away from home), and child care.
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Pathologist:
a doctor who specializes in diagnosis and classification of diseases
by laboratory tests such as examination of tissue and cells under
a microscope. The pathologist determines whether a tumor is benign
or cancerous and, if cancerous, the exact cell type and grade.
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Pediatric oncologist:
a doctor who specializes in treating cancers of children.
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Physician's assistant
(PA): a specially trained person who is certified to provide
basic medical services (such as the diagnosis and treatment of common
ailments), usually under the supervision of a licensed physician.
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Physicist:
a specially trained person who ensures the exact amount of radiation
is delivered to the treatment site. In consultation with the radiation
oncologist, the physicist also determines the treatment schedule
that will have the best chance of killing the most cancer cells.
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Positron emission
tomography (PET): a PET scan produces an image of the body,
then computes specifications of tumors for precise diagnoses. PET
scans are especially useful in taking images of the brain, although
they are becoming more widely used to find the spread of cancer
of the breast, colon, rectum, ovary, or lung. PET scans may also
be used to see how well a tumor is responding to treatment.
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Psychosocial:
the psychological and/or social aspects of health, disease, treatment,
and/or rehabilitation.
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Radiation oncologist:
a doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer.
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Radiation
therapist: a person with special training to work the equipment
that delivers radiation therapy.
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Radiation therapy:
the treatment of cancer with high-energy rays to kill or shrink
cancer cells. The radiation may come from outside of the body (external
radiation) or from radioactive materials placed directly in the
tumor (internal or implant radiation). Radiation therapy may be
used to reduce the size of a cancer before surgery, to destroy any
remaining cancer cells after surgery, or, in some cases, as the
main treatment.
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Remission:
complete or partial disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer
in response to treatment; the period during which a disease is under
control. A remission may not be a cure.
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Surgical oncologist:
a doctor who specializes in using surgery to treat cancer.
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X-rays: one
form of radiation that can be used at low levels to produce an image
of the body on film or at high levels to destroy cancer cells.
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