| CA 19-9: a tumor marker sometimes produced by colorectal, stomach, bile duct, and pancreatic cancers. It may also be produced in pancreatitis, liver disease, and other non-cancer conditions. See tumor markers. |
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| cachexia:
(ka-kek-see-uh):
a profound state of general poor health and malnutrition (poor dietary intake). |
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| calcifications:
(kals-if-ik-a-shuns):
tiny calcium deposits within the breast, alone or in clusters, often found by mammography. These are also called microcalcifications. They are a sign of changes within the breast that may need to be followed by more mammograms, or by a biopsy. They may be caused by breast cancer or by benign breast conditions. |
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| cancer: cancer is not just 1 disease but a group of diseases. All cancers cause cells in the body to change and grow out of control. Most types of cancers form a lump or mass called a tumor. The tumor can invade and destroy healthy tissue. Cells from the tumor can break off and go to other parts of the body where they can continue to grow. This spreading process is called metastasis. When cancer spreads, it is still named after the part of the body where it started. If breast cancer spreads to the lungs, it is still breast cancer, not lung cancer. Some cancers, such as blood cancers, do not form a tumor. Another word for cancerous is malignant. |
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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 physicians, pathologists, oncology specialists (medical oncologist, radiation oncologist), surgeons (including surgical specialists such as urologists, gynecologists, neurosurgeons, etc.), nurses, oncology nurse specialists, and oncology social workers. Whether the team is linked formally or informally, there is usually one person who takes the job of coordinating the team. |
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| cancer cell: a cell that divides and reproduces abnormally and can spread throughout the body, crowding out normal cells and tissue. |
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| cancer screening tests: see screening. |
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| cancer susceptibility genes: genes (the basic unit of heredity) inherited from one's parents that greatly increase the risk of a person's developing cancer. About 5%-15% of all cancers are caused by these genes. |
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| cancer vaccine: a vaccine used in the treatment (not prevention) of some cancers. It is made from pieces of tumors and works by causing the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells. |
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| cancer-related check-up: a routine health examination for cancer in persons without obvious signs or symptoms of cancer. The goal of the cancer-related check-up is to find the disease, if it exists, at an early stage, when chances for cure are greatest. Depending on the person?s sex and age, this check-up may include a digital rectal examination, clinical breast examination, Pap smear, PSA blood test, and skin examination. See also detection. |
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| cancer-related fatigue: an unusual and persistent sense of tiredness that can occur with cancer or cancer treatments. It can be overwhelming, last a long time, and interfere with everyday life. Rest does not always relieve it. |
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| carcinoembryonic antigen:
(car-sin-o-em-bre-ON-ic an-tuh-jin):
a substance normally found in fetal tissue. If found in an adult, it may suggest that a cancer, especially one starting in the digestive system, may be present. Tests for this substance may help in finding out if a colorectal cancer has come back after treatment. The test is not helpful for screening for colorectal cancer because of the large number of false positives and false negatives. See tumor marker, screening, false positive, and false negative. |
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| carcinogen:
(car-sin-o-jin):
any substance that causes cancer or helps cancer grow. For example, tobacco smoke contains many carcinogens that greatly increase the risk of lung cancer. |
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| carcinoid syndrome: A group of symptoms produced by cancer cells that release high amounts of hormones, which cause facial flushing, wheezing, diarrhea, a fast heartbeat, and other symptoms. |
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| carcinoid tumors or carcinoids: tumors that develop from neuroendocrine cells, usually in the digestive tract, lung, or ovary. The cancer cells from these tumors release certain hormones into the bloodstream. In about 10% of people, the hormone levels are high enough to cause facial flushing, wheezing, diarrhea, a fast heartbeat, and other symptoms throughout the body. |
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| carcinoma:
(car-sin-o-ma):
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:
(car-sin-o-ma in sy-too):
an early stage of cancer in which the tumor is confined to the organ where 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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| case manager: the member of a cancer care team, usually a nurse or oncology nurse specialist, who coordinates the patient's care throughout diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The case manager acts as a guide through the complex system of health care by helping cut through red tape, getting responses to questions, managing crises, and connecting the patient and family to needed resources. |
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| catheter:
(cath-it-ur):
a thin, flexible tube through which fluids enter or leave the body; for example, a tube to drain urine. |
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| CEA: see carcinoembryonic antigen |
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| cell: the basic unit of which all living things are made. Cells replace themselves by splitting and forming new cells (this process is called mitosis). The processes that control the formation of new cells and the death of old cells are disrupted in cancer. |
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| cell cycle: the series of steps that a cell must go through to divide; some chemotherapy drugs act by interfering with the cell cycle. |
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| centigray:
(cent-uh-gray):
abbreviated cGy: a unit of radiation equal to the rad, the older term for the unit. See also radiation dose. |
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| centimeter:
(sin-tuh-mee-ter):
a metric measure of length. It takes about 2 ½ centimeters to equal 1 inch. Also, 1/100 of a meter. |
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| cervix:
(ser-vix):
the neck of the womb (uterus). |
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| cGy: short for centigray, a unit of radiation equal to the rad, an older term. |
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| chemoprevention:
(key-mo-pre-VEN-shun ):
prevention or reversal of disease using drugs, chemicals, vitamins, or minerals. While this idea is not ready for widespread use, it is a very promising area of study. The Breast Cancer Prevention Trial has shown that the drug tamoxifen can prevent some cases of breast cancer among women with high risk of the disease. But the drug may have some serious side effects. |
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| chemotherapy:
(key-mo-THER-uh-pee):
treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often used, either alone or with surgery or radiation, to treat cancer that has spread or come back (recurred), or when there is a strong chance that it could recur. Often called chemo. |
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| chromosome:
(krom-uh-som):
chromosomes carry genes, the basic units of heredity. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, one member of each pair from the mother, the other from the father. Each chromosome can contain hundreds or thousands of individual genes. |
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| chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:
(ob-struck-tiv pull-mun-err-ee):
lung disease, such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, that makes it harder to breathe. More common in smokers; also known as COPD. |
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| clinical breast examination: an examination of the breasts done by a health professional such as a doctor or nurse. |
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| clinical staging: an estimate of the extent of cancer based on physical exam, biopsy results, and imaging tests. See staging. |
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clinical trials: research studies to test new drugs or other treatments to compare current, standard treatments with others that may be better. Before a new treatment is used on people, it is studied in the lab. If lab studies suggest the treatment will work, the next step is to test its value in patients. These human studies are called clinical trials. The main questions the researchers want to answer are:
- Does this treatment work?
- Does it work better than what we're now using?
- What side effects does it cause?
- Do the benefits outweigh the risks?
- Which patients are most likely to find this treatment helpful?
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| colon: the large intestine. The colon is a muscular tube about 5 feet long. It is divided into 4 sections: the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon. It continues the process of absorbing water and mineral nutrients from food that was started in the small intestine. |
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| colonoscope:
(co-lahn-uh-scope):
a slender, flexible, hollow lighted tube about the thickness of a finger. It is inserted through the rectum up into the colon. A colonoscope is much longer than a sigmoidoscope, and allows the doctor to see much more of the colon's lining. The colonoscope is connected to a video camera and video display monitor so the doctor can look closely at the inside of the entire colon. (This procedure is called a colonoscopy.) |
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| colonoscopy:
(ko-lun-AH-skuh-pee):
a procedure that allows a doctor to see inside the large intestine to find polyps or cancer. |
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| colony stimulating factors (CSF): types of growth factors that promote growth and division of blood-producing cells in the bone marrow. CSFs are naturally produced in the body. But extra amounts may be given as a treatment to reduce or prevent certain side effects of chemotherapy that may be caused by not having enough blood cells. |
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| colorectal cancer screening: testing done to detect abnormalities early, before signs and symptoms start. This allows for earlier detection of cancer, when it is most curable. It also allows doctors to find and remove polyps, which can prevent cancer from developing. See also screening, fecal occult blood test, fecal immunochemical test, barium enema, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and polyp. |
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| colostomy:
(kuh-lahs-tuh-me):
a procedure in which the end of the colon is attached to an opening created in the abdominal wall to get rid of body waste (stool). A colostomy is sometimes needed after surgery for cancer of the rectum. People with colon cancer sometimes have a temporary colostomy but they rarely need a permanent one. |
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| combined modality therapy: two or more types of treatment used alternately or together to get the best results. For example, surgery for cancer is often followed by chemotherapy to destroy any cancer cells that may have spread from the original site. |
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| complementary therapy: treatment used along with standard medical treatment. Some complementary therapies may help relieve certain symptoms of cancer, relieve side effects of standard cancer therapy, or improve a patient's sense of well-being. The ACS recommends that patients thinking about using any alternative or complementary therapy discuss it first with a member of their health care team, since many of these treatments are unproven and some can be harmful. See also alternative therapy. |
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| computed tomography:
(to-mahg-ruh-fee):
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 make 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. It is often referred to as a "CT" or "CAT" scan. |
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| concurrent treatment: treatment or therapy that is given at the same time as another treatment. |
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| conformal proton beam therapy: a technique for giving radiation therapy that uses proton beams rather than standard radiation. Protons are parts of atoms that cause little damage to the tissues they pass through but are very effective in killing cells at the end of their path. Proton beam therapy is still new and not offered in many treatment centers, but it may be able to deliver more radiation to the cancer while reducing the damage to normal tissues. See also conformal radiation therapy. |
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| conformal radiation therapy: a newer type of radiation treatment that uses a special computer which helps shape the beams of radiation to the shape of the tumor. It also delivers the beams from several different directions rather than all going in from one angle. This cuts down the amount of exposure that any one section of healthy tissue gets by spreading out the entry points. |
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| control group: in research or clinical trials, this is the group that does not receive the treatment being tested. In cancer research, this group most often gets standard treatment (which has already been tested and is in general use.) When no standard treatment exists, the control group may get a placebo or sham treatment. Also called the comparison group. See also clinical trials. |
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| conventional therapy or treatment: see standard therapy. |
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| COPD: see chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. |
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| corticosteroid:
(kor-ti-ko-STEER-oid):
any of a number of steroid substances that come from the cortex of the adrenal glands. They are sometimes used as an anti-cancer treatment or to reduce nausea. |
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| cryoablation:
(cry-o-ah-BLAY-shun):
use of extreme cold to freeze and destroy cancer cells. |
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| cryosurgery: see cryoablation. |
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| CT scan or CAT scan: see computed tomography |
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| CT-guided needle biopsy: a procedure that uses special x-rays to show a mass, while the radiologist advances a biopsy needle toward it. The images are repeated until the doctor is sure the needle is in the tumor or mass. A biopsy is then taken from it to be looked at under the microscope. |
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| curative treatment: treatment aimed at producing a cure. Compare with palliative treatment. |
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| cyst:
(sist):
a fluid-filled mass that is usually not cancer (benign). The fluid can be removed for analysis. See needle aspiration. |
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| cystoscopy:
(sis-tah-sko-pee):
looking at the inside of the bladder with a thin, flexible, lighted tube called a cystoscope. |
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| cytogenetics:
(sy-toe-juh-net-icks):
tests done to look for abnormal changes in chromosomes. This is often done on bone marrow samples in patients with leukemia. |
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| cytokine:
(sy-toe-kine):
A substance that is produced by cells of the body's immune system that can affect the immune response. Cytokines can also be produced in the lab and given to people to help the body's immune responses against cancer. |
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| cytology:
(sy-tahl-uh-jee):
the branch of science that deals with the structure and function of cells. Also refers to tests to diagnose cancer and other diseases by looking at cells under the microscope. |
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| cytometry:
(sy-tahm-uh-tree):
the counting and measuring of cells using a machine called a flow cytometer. |
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| cytotoxic:
(sy-toe-tok-sick):
toxic to cells; cell-killing. |
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