ADJUVANT TREATMENT: Treatment given soon after surgery when a diagnosis of cancer is made.
ALOPECIA: Loss of hair (partial or complete). No hair where you normally have hair.
ANEMIA: A condition in which blood has less red cells or haemoglobin.
ANTI-EMETIC: A tablet or injection to stop you feeling sick or vomiting.
BENIGN: Not Cancer.
BIOPSY: The removal of a small amount of tissue from your body to find out if cancer cells are present.
BLOOD COUNT: A term used to describe the blood test that looks at the number of different cells contained in a sample of blood.
BONE SCAN: A Test to see if you have cancer in the bones.
CAT SCAN: pictures of inside your body taken by an x-ray machine at different angles.
CHEMOTHERAPY: Anti-cancer drugs used for treating cancer.
DUCTS: Tubes that fluid passes through.
FATIGUE: Tiredness that just does not go away even with rest.
IMMUNE SYSTEM: Your body's natural defence against infections.
LUMPECTOMY: Surgery to remove cancer and a little tissue around it.
LYMPHOEDEMA: Swelling of the arm after surgery after having lymph nodes removed from under your arm.
MASTECTOMY: When a breast is removed by surgery.
MALIGNANT: Means Cancer.
NAUSEA: Feeling sick.
STAGING: To See what stage your cancer is at.
TUMOR: Overgrowth of cells.
This is great. Once you get a cancer diagnosis you enter into a whole new world of action and language. Professionals use acronyms all the time, sometimes they forget that for the patient and their family it's all brand new. It's scary to deal with so much new information being suddenly thrown at them.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI so have to agree with you. Sometimes when I am with the doctor and another doctor comes in they speak in their own language and terms and I don't have a clue what they do be on about.