Glossary of Medical Terms Relating to Cancer

Adjuvant therapy (AD-joo-vant): Treatment gien in addition to the primary treatment.
Biopsy (BY-op-see): The removal of a sample of tissue, which is then examined under a microscope to check for cancer cells. When only a sample of tissue is removed, the procedure is called incisional biopsy; when the whole tumor is removed, it is excisional biopsy. Removing tissue or fluid with a needle is called needle biopsy or needle aspiration.
Bone marrow transplantation: A procedure in which doctors replace marrow destroyed by treatment with high doses of anicancer drugs or radiation. The replacement marrow may be taken from the patient before treatment or may be donated by another person. When the patient's own marrow is used, the procedure is called autologous bone marrow transplantation.
CEA assay: A laboratory test to measure the level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a substance that is sometimes found in an increased amount in the blood of colorectal cancer patients.
Chemotherapy (kee-mo-THER-a-pee): Treatment with anticancer drugs.
Clinical trials: Medical research studies conducted with volunteers. Each study is designed to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, detect, or treat cancer.
Colon (KO-lun): The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food. The remaining material, solid waste called stool, moves through the colon to the rectum and leaves the body through the anus. The colon is sometimes called the large bowel or the large intestine.
Colonoscopy (ko-lun-OS-ko-pee): An examination in which the doctor looks at the colon through a flexible, lighted instrument called a colonoscope.
Colorectal (ko-lo-REK-tul): Related to the colon and/or rectum.
Colostomy (ko-LOS-to-mee): An opening created by a surgeon into the colon from the outside of the body. A colostomy provides a new path for waste material to leave the body after part of the colon has been removed.
CT (or CAT) scan: A series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. Also called computed tomography (CT) scan or computed axial tomography (CAT) scan.
Endoscopy (en-DOS-ko-pee): A procedure in which the doctor looks inside the body through a lighted tube called an endoscope.
Familial polyposis (pol-i-PO-sis): An inherited condition in which several hundred polyps develop in the colon and rectum.
Fecal occult blood test (FEE-kul-o-KULT): A test to check for hidden blood in stool. (Fecal refers to stool. Occult means hidden.)
Hormone therapy: Treatment that prevents certain cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow.
Gene therapy: Treatment that alters genes (the basic units of heredity found in all cells in the body). In early studies of gene therapy for cancer, researchers are trying to improve the body's natural ability to fight the disease or to make the tumor more sensitive to other kinds of therapy.
Imaging: Procedures that produce pictures of areas inside the body.
Mammogram (MAM-o-gram): An x-ray of the breast.
Monoclonal antibodies: Substances that can locate and bind to cancer cells wherever they are in the body. They can be used alone, or they can be used to deliver drugs, toxins, or radioactive material directly to the tumor cells.
MRI: A procedure using a magnet linked to a computer to create pictures of areas inside the body. Also called magnetic resonance imaging.
Pap test: Microscopic examination of cells collected from the cervix. It is used to detect changes that may be cancer or may lead to cancer, and it can show noncancerous conditions, such as infection or inflammation. Also called Pap smear.
Polyp (POL-ip): A mass of tissue that develops on the inside wall of a hollow organ such as the colon.
Prognosis (prog-NO-sis): The probable outcome or course of a disease; the chance of recovery.
Radionuclide scanning: An exam that produces pictures (scans) of internal parts of the body. The patient is given an injection or swallows a small amount of radioactive material. A machine called a scanner then measures the radioactivity in certain organs.
Radiation therapy (ray-dee-AY-shun): Treatment with high-energy rays to kill or damage cancer cells. External radiation therapy is the use of a machine to aim high-energy rays at the cancer. Internal radiation therapy is the placement of radioactive material inside the body as close as possible to the cancer.
Remission: Disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer. When this happens, the disease is said to be "in remission." Remission can be temporary or permanent.
Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chance of developing a disease.
Screening: Checking for disease when there are no symptoms.
Side effects: Problems that occur when treatment affects healthy cells. Common side effects of cancer treatment are fatigue, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell counts, hair loss, and mouth sores.
Sigmoidoscopy (sig-moy-DOS-ko-pee): A procedure in which the doctor looks inside the rectum and the lower part of the colon (sigmoid colon) through a lighted tube. The doctor may collect samples of tissue or cells for closer examination. Also called proctosigmoidoscopy.
Stage: The extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spread from the original site to other parts of the body.
Staging: Doing exams and tests to learn the extent of a cancer, especially whether it has spread from its original site to other parts of the body.
Systemic treatment (sis-TEM-ik): Treatment that reaches cells all over the body by traveling through the bloodstream.
Tumor markers: Substances found in abnormal amounts in the blood, in other body fluids, or in tumor tissue of some patients with certain types of cancer.
Ulcerative colitis: A disease that causes long-term inflammation of the lining of the colon.
Ultrasonography (ul-tra-son-OG-ra-fee): An exam in which sound waves are bounced off tissues and the echoes are converted into a picture (sonogram).
Ultraviolet radiation (ul-tra-VI-o-let ray-dee-AY-shun): Invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the sun. Ultraviolet radiation can burn the skin and cause skin cancer. It is made up of two types of rays, UVA and UVB. Skin specialists recommend that people use sunscreens that block both kinds of radiation.
X-rays: High-energy radiation used in low doses to diagnose disease or injury, and in high doeses to treat cancer.
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