The words, in plain English
Cancer care runs on vocabulary you were expected to absorb during the worst week of your life. Here is what 64 of the most common terms actually mean.
64 terms
- Adjuvant treatment
- Treatment given after the main treatment (usually surgery) to reduce the chance of the cancer coming back.
- Allied health professionals
- Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, speech and language therapists, psychologists — the people who do most of the practical work of recovery.
- Benign
- Not cancer. A benign growth does not spread to other parts of the body.
- Biochemical recurrence
- A rise in a blood marker suggesting cancer activity before anything is visible on a scan — used particularly in prostate cancer. Read more
- Biomarker · also called receptor status, molecular marker
- A feature of the cancer that guides treatment — for example hormone receptors or HER2 in breast cancer, or specific gene changes.
- Biopsy
- Taking a sample of tissue to examine under a microscope. It is how a cancer diagnosis is confirmed.
- Cardiotoxicity
- Damage to the heart caused by some cancer treatments, particularly anthracyclines, HER2-targeted drugs and chest radiotherapy. Read more
- Chemotherapy
- Drugs that kill cells which are dividing quickly. Effective against cancer, and responsible for many of the side effects because some healthy cells divide quickly too.
- Clinical nurse specialist · also called CNS, key worker
- A specialist nurse who is usually your most accessible contact and often the person who answers between appointments.
- Clinical trial
- A research study testing a treatment. Phase 1 mainly assesses safety and dose; phase 3 compares a new treatment against the current standard.
- Cognitive changes · also called chemo brain, brain fog
- Problems with memory, concentration and word-finding after cancer treatment. Read more
- Contrast
- A dye given by injection or drink to make certain tissues stand out on a scan.
- CT scan
- X-rays from many angles built into cross-sections of the body. Fast and detailed; uses radiation. Read more
- Cumulative dose
- The total amount of a drug received across all cycles. It matters for effects that depend on the total, such as anthracyclines and the heart. Read more
- Cycle
- One round of treatment followed by a rest period, repeated a set number of times.
- Discharge
- The end of routine hospital follow-up. It should come with a written plan and a route back in.
- Fear of recurrence
- Worry that cancer will come back — one of the most commonly reported experiences after treatment, and treatable when severe. Read more
- Fibrosis
- Thickening and stiffening of tissue after radiotherapy or surgery. Physiotherapy and stretching help.
- Fraction
- One session of radiotherapy. A course is a total dose divided into a number of fractions.
- Full blood count · also called FBC, CBC
- A blood test measuring red cells, white cells and platelets.
- Grade
- How different the cancer cells look from normal cells under a microscope. Higher grade generally means faster growing.
- Haematologist
- A doctor specialising in blood conditions, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
- Histology · also called pathology
- The examination of tissue under a microscope, and the report describing what was found.
- Hormone therapy · also called endocrine therapy
- Treatment that blocks or lowers hormones that some cancers use to grow — for example tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors in breast cancer, or androgen deprivation in prostate cancer.
- Immunotherapy
- Drugs that help the immune system recognise and attack cancer. Side effects come from the immune system acting on healthy tissue, and can appear late.
- Incidental finding
- Something unrelated to the reason for the scan — a cyst, a gallstone, a small nodule. Common, and usually harmless.
- Indeterminate
- A radiologist can see something but cannot say what it is from that image. Usually followed by a repeat scan after an interval. Read more
- Late effect
- A problem that appears months or years after treatment finished. Read more
- Line of treatment
- The order treatments are tried in. First-line is the first one used for that situation.
- Long-term effect
- A side effect that starts during treatment and does not go away. Read more
- Lymphoedema
- Swelling caused by damage to the lymphatic system, usually after lymph node surgery or radiotherapy. Early treatment works much better than late.
- Malignant
- Cancerous. A malignant growth can invade nearby tissue and spread elsewhere.
- Metastasis · also called secondary, mets
- Cancer that has spread from where it started to another part of the body.
- MRI scan
- Uses a magnetic field rather than radiation. Better for brain, spine, liver, pelvis and soft tissue. Read more
- Multidisciplinary team · also called MDT, tumour board
- The group of specialists who meet to agree treatment recommendations for each person.
- Neoadjuvant treatment
- Treatment given before the main treatment, usually to shrink a cancer before surgery.
- Neutropenia
- A low level of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. It increases the risk of serious infection, which is why fever during chemotherapy is an emergency.
- No evidence of disease · also called NED
- Nothing on this scan or test looks like cancer. It describes what the test can detect, not a guarantee.
- Oncologist
- A doctor specialising in cancer. Medical oncologists lead drug treatment; clinical or radiation oncologists lead radiotherapy.
- Osteoporosis
- Thinning of the bones, making fractures more likely. Accelerated by some hormone treatments and by early menopause. Read more
- Osteoradionecrosis
- A rare but serious complication where irradiated bone fails to heal, most often in the jaw. It is why dental extractions after head and neck radiotherapy need specialist planning. Read more
- Palliative care
- Care focused on symptoms and quality of life. It can run alongside treatment aimed at cure, and is not only for the end of life — a common and distressing misunderstanding.
- Palliative care team
- Specialists in symptom control and quality of life, who may be involved at any stage of illness.
- Patient-initiated follow-up · also called open access follow-up, PIFU
- Follow-up without fixed appointments, where you contact the team directly and are seen quickly when needed. Read more
- Peripheral neuropathy · also called CIPN
- Nerve damage causing numbness, tingling, pain or weakness, usually in hands and feet, caused by certain chemotherapy drugs. Read more
- PET-CT
- A scan using a radioactive sugar tracer to show where cells are unusually active, combined with a CT. Inflammation and infection also show up. Read more
- Primary cancer
- The place the cancer started. It keeps that name even if it spreads — breast cancer in the bones is still breast cancer.
- Prognosis
- The likely course of the illness, based on averages from large groups of people. It cannot say what will happen to one individual.
- Radiotherapy · also called radiation therapy
- High-energy rays targeted at a specific area to destroy cancer cells there.
- Recurrence · also called relapse
- Cancer that has come back after a period of not being detectable. Local means in the same place; distant means somewhere else. Read more
- Remission
- No detectable sign of cancer. Complete remission means none can be found with current tests; it is not the same word as cure, and different teams use it differently. Read more
- Scanxiety
- Informal term for the anxiety that builds before a scan and peaks while waiting for results. Read more
- Second primary cancer
- A new, different cancer — not a return of the first one. Read more
- Stage
- How far the cancer had spread when it was found. Usually 1 to 4, sometimes written with T, N and M for tumour, nodes and metastasis.
- Stem cell transplant · also called bone marrow transplant
- High-dose treatment followed by an infusion of stem cells to rebuild the bone marrow. Autologous uses your own cells; allogeneic uses a donor's.
- Surveillance
- The programme of scans, tests and appointments used to check for recurrence after treatment. Read more
- Survivorship
- Living with, through and beyond cancer — used to describe the period after treatment as well as the care given during it. Read more
- Survivorship care plan
- A written document setting out what treatment you had and what happens next: follow-up, monitoring, late effects and contacts. Read more
- Targeted therapy
- Drugs aimed at a specific feature of the cancer cell rather than at all dividing cells.
- Treatment-induced menopause
- Menopause caused by chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy or hormone treatment. Often sudden, and often more intense than natural menopause. Read more
- Tumour marker
- A substance in blood that can rise with certain cancers — for example PSA, CEA, CA-125, AFP. Useful for some cancers, unreliable for others, and read as a trend rather than a single number. Read more
- Ultrasound
- Sound waves used to create images. No radiation; good for superficial structures and for guiding biopsies.