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| Cancer Glossary |
| Adjuvant therapy. Drags or hormones given after surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation to help prevent recurrence or metastasis. |
| Angiogenesis. The formation and differentiation of blood vessels. |
| Apoptosis. Programmed cell death. |
| Differentiation. Occurs when cells mature and take on the specific forms and functions of the normal tissue from which they came. |
| Localized disease. Cancer confined to the area surrounding the original tumor. |
| Local therapy. Treatment aimed at eradicating the tumor and any cancer cells in the surrounding area. |
| Lymph nodes. Bean-shaped organs located along the lymphatic system which remove waste materials from the body. Cancer cells travel throughout the body through the lymphatic system. Lymph node dissection (removing and examining lymph nodes near the tumor) can help determine the extent of disease; thus this procedure is sometimes used to classify tumors by stage. However, since the lymphatic system is crucial in the ability to fight disease, we must find a better way to determine disease progression than by removing lymph nodes. |
| Metastasis. The spread of cancer from the original site to another part of the body. Regional metastasis indicates that cancer has spread to a nearby area, typically to the lymph nodes. With distant metastasis, the cancer has traveled farther away, typically to the liver, bones, lungs, or brain. |
| Mitosis. The proliferation of a cell. In cancer, mitosis occurs at an accelerated level. |
| Node-negative. The term indicating no cancer cells have been found in the lymph nodes. |
| Node-positive. The term indicating cancer cells have been found in the lymph nodes. This information is used to determine what course of therapy to follow. |
| Oncologist. A cancer specialist who determines what type of adjuvant therapy will be used to treat a cancer patient. |
| Palliative care. Therapy aimed at relieving symptoms, usually pain, rather than eradicating disease or prolonging life. |
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