Visits to your family doctor, oncologist, or radiologist are crucial to your recovery of breast cancer, but they can leave you confused as well. Doctors speak a technical language! The following is an alphbetized list of commonly-used terms.

Ablative therapy: Treatment that removes or destroys the function of an organ, as in surgical removal of the ovaries or the administration of some types of chemotherapy to ablate the ovaries, thus causing infertility.

Acini: The sac-like part of the milk-producing glands in the breast. Several acini form a lobule.

Adenocarcinoma: Cancer that starts in the glandular tissue, such as in the lobules or ducts of the breast.

Adjuvant therapy: Treatment that is added to increase the effectiveness of a primary therapy. It usually refers to hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation added after surgery to increase the chances of curing the disease or keeping it in check.

Advanced cancer: A stage of cancer in which the disease has spread from the primary site to other parts of the body. When the cancer has spread only to the surrounding areas, it is called locally advanced. If it has spread further by traveling through the network of lymph glands (lymphatics) or in the bloodstream, it is called metastatic.

Androgen: A male sex hormone. Androgens may be used to treat recurrent breast cancer. Their effect is to block the activity of estrogen, thereby slowing growth of the cancer.

Antiemetic: A drug that prevents of relieves nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy. Antiemetic drugs can be used before, during, or after chemotherapy.

Areola: The dark area of flesh that surrounds the nipple of the breast.

Asymptomatic: To be without noticeable symptoms of disease. Many cancers can develop and grow without producing symptoms, especially in the early stages.

Benign: Not cancer; not malignant. The main types of benign breast problems are fibroadenomas and fibrocystic changes.

Bilateral: Affecting both sides of the body; for example, bilateral breast cancer is cancer occurring in both breasts at the same time.

Biologic response modifiers: Substances that boost the body’s immune system to fight against cancer.

Biopsy: A procedure in which tissue samples are removed from the body for the examination of their appearance under a microscope to find out if cancer or other abnormal cells are present. A biopsy can be done with a needle or by surgery.

BRCA1: A gene which, when damaged, places a woman at greater risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer, compared with women who do not have the mutation. In a woman with a BRCA1 mutation, the estimated lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is 50-60% compared with 2% in the
general population.

BRCA2: A gene which, when damaged or mutated, puts the carrier at a much higher risk for developing breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer than the general population. In a woman with a BRCA2 mutation, the estimated lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is 50-60%. BRCA 2 and BRCA1 together account for about 80% of the breast cancer that occurs in women with strong family histories of the disease.

Breast cancer: Cancer that starts in the breast. The main types of breast cancer are ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, lobular carcinoma in situ, invasive lobular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, and Paget’s disease of the nipple.

Breast reconstruction: Surgery that rebuilds the breast contour after mastectomy. A breast implant of the woman’s own tissue provides the contour. If desired, the nipple and areola may also be re-created.

Calcifications: Tiny calcium deposits within the breast, singly or in clusters, often found by mammography.

Cancer cell: A cell that divides and reproduces abnormally and can spread throughout the body.

Capsule formation: Scar tissue that may form around a breast (or other type of) implant as the body reacts to the foreign object.

Carcinoma: A malignant tumor that begins in the lining layer of organs. At least 80% of all cancers are carcinomas, and almost all breast cancers are
carcinomas.

Chemoprevention: 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 Tyrial is one such study, in which the drug tamoxifen is being tried to see if it will prevent
breast cancer.

Chemotherapy: Treatment with drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often used in addition to surgery or radiation to treat cancer when metastasis is proven or suspected, when the cancer has come back, or when there is a strong likelihood that the cancer could recur.

Clinical trials: Research studies to test new drugs or other treatments to compare current, standard treatments with others that may be better.

Cyst: A fluid-filled mass that is usually benign. The fluid can be removed for analysis.

Dimpling: A pucker or indentation of the skin; on the breast, it may be a sign of cancer.

Ductal carcinoma in situ: Cancer cells that start in the milk passages (ducts) and have not penetrated the duct walls into the surrounding tissue. This is a highly curable form of breast cancer that is treated with surgery or surgery plus radiation therapy.

Edema: Build-up of fluid in the tissues, resulting in swelling. Edema of the arm can occur after radical mastectomy, axillary dissection of lymph nodes, or radiation therapy.

Fibroadenoma: A type of benign breast tumor composed of fibrous tissue and glandular tissue. On clinical examination or breast self-examination, it usually feels like a firm, round, smooth lump. These usually occur in young women.

Flow cytometry: A test of tumor tissue to see how fast the tumor cells are reproducing and whether the tumor cells contain a normal or abnormal amount of DNA. This test is used to help predict how aggressive a cancer is likely to be.

Grade: The grade of a breast cancer reflects how abnormal it looks under the microscope. There are several grading systems for breast cancer, but all divide cancer into those with the greatest abnormality (grade) or poorly differentiated, the least abnormality and/or intermediate features.

Hereditary cancer syndrome: Conditions associated with cancers that occur in multiple family members, because of an inherited, mutated gene.

Hormone therapy: Treatment with hormones, drugs that interfere with hormone production or hormone action, or surgical removal of hormone-producing glands to kill cancer cells or show their growth.

Hyperplasia: An abnormal increase in the number of cells in a specific area, such as the lining of the breast ducts or the lobules.

Invasive cancer: Cancer that has spread beyond the area it developed in, to involve adjacent tissues. For example, invasive breast cancers develop in milk glands or milk passages and spread to the adjacent fatty breast tissue.

Invasive ductal carcinoma: A cancer that starts in the milk passages of the breast and then breaks through the duct wall, where it invades the fatty tissue of the breast. Invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer, accounting for about 80% of breast malignancies.

Invasive lobular carcinoma: A cancer that arises in the milk-producing glands of the breast and then breaks through the lobule walls to involve the adjacent fatty tissue. It is often difficult to detect by physical examination or even by mammography.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS): A very early type of breast cancer that develops within the milk-producing glands of the breast and does not penetrate through the wall of the lobules. Having this type of cancer places a woman at increased risk of developing an invasive breast cancer later in life.

Lumpectomy: Surgery to remove the breast tumor and a small amount of surrounding normal tissue.

Malignant tumor: A mass of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or spread to distant areas of the body.

Mammogram (Mammography): An x-ray of the breast; the principle method of detecting breast cancer in women over 40. Mammograms are made using a special type of x-ray machine that is 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.

Mastectomy: Surgery to remove all or part of the breast and sometimes
other tissue.

• Extended radical mastectomy removes the breast, skin, nipple, areola, chest muscles, and all axillary and internal mammary lymph nodes on the same side.
  
  
• Halsted radical mastectomy removes the breast, skin, nipple, areola, both pectoral muscles, and all axillary lymph nodes on the same side.
  
  
• 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 mastectomy removes less than the whole breast, taking only part of the breast in which the cancer occurs and a margin of healthy breast tissue surrounding the tumor.
  
  
• Subcutaneous mastectomy is surgery to remove internal breast tissue. The nipple and the skin are left intact.
  
  
• Prophylactic mastectomy is a subcutaneous mastectomy done before any evidence of cancer can be found, for the purpose of preventing cancer.
  
  
• Quadrantectomy is a partial mastectomy in which the quarter of the breast that contains a tumor is removed.

Mastisis: Inflammation or infection of the breast.

Metastasis: The spread of cancer cells to distant areas of the body by way of the lymph system or bloodstream.

Multicentric breast cancer: Breast cancer occurring in multiple areas of a breast.

Oncologist: A doctor who is specially trained in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Radiotherapy: Treatment with radiation to destroy cancer cells. Sources of radiation used include linear accelerators, cobalt, and betatrons.

Regional involvement: The spread to breast cancer from its original site to nearby areas such and the chest muscles or axillary lymph nodes, but not to distant sites such as other organs.

Remission: Complete or partial disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer in response to treatment; the period during which a disease is under control. A remission may not be a cure.

Screening: The search for disease, such as cancer, in people without symptoms. Screening may refer to coordinated programs in large populations.

Staging: The process of determining and describing the extent of cancer.

Transverse rectus: abdominus muscle flap procedure: A method of breast reconstruction in which tissue from the lower abdominal wall which receives its blood supply from the rectus abdominus muscle. The tissue from this area is moved up to the chest to create a breast mound and usually does not require an implant.

Source: American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Dictionary. For more information, Call 1-800-ACS-2345.