| macroglobulinemia:
(mack-row-glob-yuh-lin-EE-mee-uh):
a condition with abnormally large proteins in the blood, which may reduce or clog blood flow in the smaller blood vessels. Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with such proteins. |
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| macrophage:
(mack-row-faj):
a type of white blood cell that engulfs and destroys foreign materials. |
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| magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): a method of taking pictures of the inside of the body. Instead of using x-rays, MRI uses a powerful magnet to send 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 may feel confined inside the MRI machine. |
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| malignant tumor:
(muh-lig-nunt):
a mass of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. See also tumor and metastasis. |
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| mammogram, mammography: an x-ray of the breast; a method of finding breast cancer that can't be felt. Mammograms are done with a special type of x-ray machine used only for this purpose. A mammogram can show a developing breast tumor before it is large enough to be felt by a woman or even by a highly skilled health care professional. Screening mammography is used to help find breast cancer early in women who don't have any symptoms. Diagnostic mammography helps the doctor learn more about breast masses or the cause of other breast symptoms. |
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| margin: the edge of a tissue sample removed during surgery. A negative surgical margin means that no cancer cells were found on the outer edge of the removed tissue, and is a sign that no cancer was left behind. A positive surgical margin indicates that cancer cells are found at the outer edge of the removed sample and is usually a sign that some cancer remains in the body. |
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| mass: any sort of lump, which may or may not be cancer. See also tumor. |
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| mastectomy:
(mas-tek-tuh-me):
surgery to remove all or part of the breast and sometimes other tissue. Modified radical mastectomy removes the breast, skin, nipple, areola, and most of the axillary lymph nodes on the same side, leaving the chest muscles intact. Partial or segmental mastectomy removes only the part of the breast that has the cancer and a margin of healthy breast tissue around the tumor. Prophylactic mastectomy is a mastectomy done before any sign of cancer can be found; it is done to prevent cancer. Quadrantectomy is a partial mastectomy in which the quarter of the breast that has a tumor is removed. Simple mastectomy or total mastectomy removes only the breast and areola. |
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| mediastinoscopy:
(me-dee-uh-stine-AH-skuh-pee):
examination of the chest cavity using a lighted, flexible tube inserted under the chest bone (sternum). This allows the doctor to see the lymph nodes in this area and remove samples to check for cancer. |
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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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| medical power of attorney: see durable power of attorney for health care. |
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| medullary carcinoma:
(med-you-lair-ee):
a special type of infiltrating ductal carcinoma with especially sharp boundaries between tumor tissue and normal tissue. About 5% of breast cancers are medullary carcinomas. The outlook (prognosis) for this kind of cancer is considered to be better than average. |
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| melanoma:
(mel-uh-no-muh):
a cancerous (malignant) tumor that begins in the cells that produce the 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 much less. |
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| menarche:
(men-ar-key):
a woman's first menstrual period. Early menarche (before age 12) is a risk factor for breast cancer, possibly because the earlier a woman's periods begin, the longer her exposure to estrogen. |
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| menopause:
(men-uh-paws):
the time in a woman's life when monthly cycles of menstruation stop forever and the level of hormones produced by the ovaries decreases. Menopause usually takes place in women in their late 40s or early 50s, but it can also be brought about by surgical removal of both ovaries (oophorectomy), or by some chemotherapies that destroy ovarian function. |
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| messenger RNA: the molecule that carries the information from the DNA genetic code to areas in the cytoplasm of the cell that make proteins. |
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| metastasis:
(meh-tas-tuh-sis):
cancer cells that have spread to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, often by way of the lymph system or bloodstream. Regional or local metastasis is cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, tissues, or organs close to the primary site. Distant metastasis is cancer that has spread to organs or tissues that are farther away (such as when prostate cancer spreads to the bones, lungs, or liver).The plural of this word is metastases. See also primary site, lymph nodes, and lymph system. |
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| metastasize:
(meh-tas-tuh-size):
the spread of cancer cells to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, often by way of the lymph system or bloodstream. See also metastasis and lymph system. |
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| metastatic:
(met-uh-stat-ick):
a way to describe cancer that has spread from the primary site (where it started) to other structures or organs, nearby or far away (distant). See also primary site and metastasis. |
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| micrometastases:
(mike-row-muh-TAS-tuh-sis):
the spread of cancer cells in groups so small that they can only be seen under a microscope. |
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| microsatellite instability (MSI):
(my-crow-SA-tuh-lite in-stuh-BILL-uh-tee):
a type of genetic mutation often linked to hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC). This mutation causes size differences in sections of DNA that are normally the same size in all a person?s cells. Testing for MSI is done on tissue taken from the cancer to find out if this DNA is of different lengths; if it is, HNPCC genetic testing is usually offered. See also hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer, DNA, mutation, and genetic counseling. |
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| microwave therapy: a way of treating cancer in a few sites, such as the liver, by applying heat to destroy the cells. |
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| millimeter: a metric measure of length. It takes about 25 millimeters to equal 1 inch. Also 1/1000 of a meter. |
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| millirem: see radiation dose. |
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| millisievert: see sievert. |
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| modified radical mastectomy: see mastectomy. |
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| monoclonal antibodies:
(ma-nuh-KLO-nuhl):
man-made antibodies that are designed to lock onto certain antigens. Antigens are substances that are recognized by the immune system. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that have been attached to chemo drugs or radioactive substances are being studied to see if they can seek out antigens unique to cancer cells and deliver these treatments directly to the cancer, killing only the cancer cell and not healthy tissue. MAbs are also used to help find and classify cancer cells under a microscope. Other studies are being done to see if radioactive atoms attached to MAbs can be used in imaging tests to detect small groups of cancer cells. See antibody, antigen, and immunocytochemistry. |
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| morbidity: a measure of the new cases of a disease in a population; the number of people who have a disease. |
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| mortality: a measure of the rate of death from a disease within a given group of people. |
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| MRI: see magnetic resonance imaging. |
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| mucinous carcinoma:
(myoo-sin-us car-sin-o-ma):
a type of carcinoma that is formed by mucus-producing cancer cells. |
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| mucositis:
(myoo-ko-site-us):
inflammation of a mucous membrane, such as the lining of the mouth. |
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| multidrug resistance (MDR): resistance of tumor cells to several unrelated drugs after being exposed to a single chemotherapy drug. May also refer to infections that can no longer be cured by the usual antibiotics. |
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| mutation: a change in the DNA of a cell. Most mutations do not produce cancer, and a few may even be helpful. However, all types of cancer are thought to be due to mutations that damage a cell?s DNA. Some cancer-related mutations can be inherited, which means that the person is born with the mutated DNA in all the body?s cells. But most mutations happen after the person is born, and are called somatic mutations. This type of mutation happens in one cell at a time, and only affects cells that arise from the single mutated cell. See also somatic mutation, inherited mutation, deoxyribonucleic acid, gene, and cancer susceptibility gene. |
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| myeloid leukemia:
(my-uh-loid):
Several kinds of leukemia that include chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). There are 8 subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia -- M0 (Undifferentiated AML), M1 (Myeloblastic leukemia with minimal maturation), M2 (Myeloblastic leukemia with maturation), M3 (Promyelocytic leukemia), M4 (Myelomonocytic leukemia), M5 (Monocytic leukemia), M6 (Erythroid leukemia), and M7 (Megakaryoblastic leukemia). See also leukemia and non-myeloid cancers. |
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