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Cancer Patients
Basic Cancer Terminology
Benign: Not cancer.
Biopsy: A test where a piece of tissue (a group of cells)
is taken from a person's body and looked at through a microscope to see if
the cells are normal. This is one way to see if a person has cancer. A biopsy
also can tell what type of cancer a person has.
Cancer: Over 100 diseases where cells that are not normal
grow and divide rapidly. They crowd out and destroy normal cells the body needs.
Cancer can also spread to other parts of the body.
Diagnosis: Identifying a disease. A diagnosis is based on
tests and doctors' experience and knowledge.
Hematology: The study of the blood, the parts of the body
where blood is formed, and blood diseases.
Immune cells: Cells in the body that protect a person from
infection and disease.
Lump: A thickness or bump under the skin that can be felt
by the fingers, either by the person who has it or by a doctor. Lumps can be
a sign of cancer, but most lumps are not cancerous.
Lymphatic system: Certain tissues and organs of the body that
make and store cells that fight infection and disease (immune cells). These
cells are carried throughout the body in an almost colorless fluid called lymph
(limf). Lymph and the vessels that carry lymph fluid also are part of this
system.
Malignant: Cancer.
Metastasis: The spread of cancer from one part of the body
to another. Metastasis also is the word used for a new tumor caused by the
spread of cancer cells.
Oncology: The study and treatment of cancer.
Prognosis: What might happen to a person who has a disease.
Recurrence: The return of cancer cells and signs of cancer
after a remission.
Relapse: Recurrence.
Remission: The disappearance of cancer symptoms and cells.
When this happens, the disease is said to be "in remission."
Tissue: A group of cells that performs a specific function.
Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue.
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