Cancer: What You Need to Know Glossary of Terms

1. Breast Cancer Slideshow Pictures
2. Pancreatic Cancer Slideshow Pictures
3. Skin Cancer Slideshow Pictures

American Medical Association: The AMA. The AMA's mission statement proclaims:

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Brain cancer: Cancer of the central information processing center of the body. Tumors in t...

Breast cancer: Breast cancer is diagnosed with self- and physician-examination of the brea...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Cancer symptoms: Abnormal sensations or conditions that persons can notice that are a resu...

Cervical: Having to do with any kind of neck, including the neck on which the head is perc...

Cervical cancer: Cancer of the entrance to the womb (uterus). The cervix is the lower, na...

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically k...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest X-ray: A type of X-ray commonly used to detect abnormalities in the lungs. A chest X...

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical...

Colon: The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food. The remaini...

Colon cancer: A malignant tumor arising from the inner wall of the large intestine (the co...

Curable: Amenable to a cure, capable of being cured, to being healed and made well. From ...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Esophagus: The tube that connects the pharynx (throat) with the stomach. The esophagus lie...

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

Lung cancer: Cancer of the major organ of respiration - the lung. Lung cancer kills more m...

Magic bullet: Or, sometimes, silver bullet. 1. The perfect drug to cure a disease w...

Mammogram: An X-ray of the breast that is taken with a device that compresses and flattens...

Mastectomy: A general term for removal of the breast, usually to remove cancerous tissue. ...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

NIH: National Institutes of Health.

Oncologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. After a ...

Oncology: The field of medicine that is devoted to cancer. Clinical oncology consists of t...

Operation: In medicine, a surgical procedure. Many operations are named after persons. The...

Ovarian: Of or pertaining to the ovary.

Ovarian cancer: A malignant tumor of the ovary, the egg sac in a female. Women who have a ...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the blad...

Prostate cancer: A malignant tumor of the prostate, the gland that produces some of the co...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping them from ...

Resectable: Able to be removed (resected) by surgery.

Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the larg...

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stomach cancer: Cancer of the stomach, the main organ that holds food for digestion. World...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Testicular cancer: A malignant tumor of the male sex organ (testicle) that normally produc...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Watchful waiting: Closely monitoring a patient's condition but withholding therapy until t...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...