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Glossary page:
This glossary page will help explain some commonly-used terms in cancer healthcare.
Some of the terms in this glossary are used on this website. Other terms may not be on this website, but we have provided descriptions anyway, to give you a comprehensive glossary tool to use at any time.
Please click on a letter below, to look-up a word or term....
(Click here to to download the "Jargon Buster". This is a glossary explaining some of the most common abbreveiations used in healthcare. Thanks to the Network's Patient User Partnership for this document.)
- Abdomen
The belly, tummy or gut. It is the part of the body below the chest which contains the organs of digestion, and the liver, pancreas and spleen. The lower abdomen (pelvis) also contains the organs of reproduction, the bladder and the rectum.
- Acoustic neuroma
- A type of brain tumour that starts in the nerve that controls hearing. Acoustic neuromas are benign (non-cancerous).
- Actinic keratosis
- A pre-cancerous skin growth that is sensitive to sunlight. It can become an early form of squamous cell skin cancer. It may appear as a dry, rough or scaly bump on the skin, as mottled skin or as horny growths. It is also called solar or senile keratosis.
- Acupressure
- A therapy in which acupuncture points are stimulated with the hands.
- Acupuncture
- An ancient Chinese medicine. In the West, it is used mainly as a form of pain relief. Fine needles are inserted into specific parts of the body (acupuncture points), rotated and then left in place for a few minutes.
- Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)
ALL is the most common type of leukaemia found in children. It is a disease of the white lymphocytic blood cells.
- Acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML)
AML is a disease of the white myeloid white blood cells. It mainly affects adults.
- Acute Trusts:
NHS Acute Trusts manage the Hospitals in a particular area. They make sure that hospitals provide high quality health care, and that they spend their money efficiently. Acute Trusts employ much of the NHS workforce who would treat you in a hospital, including consultants, doctors, nurses, midwives, health visitors, radiographers, and so on.
- Adenocarcinoma
- Adenocarcinoma is a cancer that forms in the cells of glands or in parts of the body that produce mucous.
- Adenoma
- A non-cancerous (benign) tumour found on glandular (mucous-producing) linings in the body. With bowel cancer, the word is sometimes used instead of polyp.
- Adjuvant treatment
- A treatment given after another treatment, to improve the chances of controlling or curing the disease. For example, adjuvant radiotherapy may be given after breast cancer surgery.
- Advanced cancer
- A phrase used at the point of initial diagnosis. It means the cancer has begun to grow into nearby tissue (invasive cancer) or has spread elsewhere (metastases have formed).
- Aggressive
- An aggressive cancer is a quickly growing cancer.
- Alexander Technique
A way of improving body posture. Teachers believe that, by achieving postural harmony, we can improve body functions such as circulation, digestion and breathing.
- ALL
ALL stands for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. It is a disease of the white lymphocytic blood cells, and is the most common type of leukaemia found in children.
- Allogenic bone marrow transplant
- A bone marrow transplant where the new, healthy bone marrow is taken from another person (a donor). The donor is usually, but not always, a relative.
- Alopecia
Hair loss. This can sometimes be a side effect of cancer treatments, for example chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
- Alternative therapy
- A treatment used instead of a conventional treatment.
- Amelanotic melanoma
- A rare type of melanoma skin cancer in which no melanin pigment is made. Instead of being dark brown and black, the growth may be pink, red, light brown or grey at the edges.
- AML
AML is a disease of the white myeloid white blood cells. It mainly affects adults.
- Anaemia
- Thinning of the blood. The reduction of the red blood cells and/or haemoglobin in the blood which absorb and carry oxygen round the body. The effect is tiredness, and sometimes breathlessness.
- Anaesthetic
- A drug used to numb an area of the body (local anaesthetic) or to put you to sleep for a while (general anaesthetic).
- Analgesic
- A painkilling drug.
- Anti-emetic
- A drug given to stop you feeling or being sick.
- Antibody
- An antibody is a blood protein that the
body makes in response to contact with a particular foreign substance
(an antigen). The antibody combines with the substance to make it
harmless.
Antibodies are triggered in response to a variety of substances such as bacteria, pollen grains, and foreign blood cells. The antibody response is the basis of both immunity and allergy, and for the body’s rejection of organs in transplantation.
- Antigen
- An antigen is any substance that the body identifies as potentially dangerous and against which it produces a defence (an antibody).
- Anus
- The bottom or back passage. The muscular part at the end of the digestive system through which stools are passed.
- Aphasia
- Inability to speak.
- Aromatherapy
- A complementary therapy based on the healing properties of essential plant oils. The oils are usually massaged into the body, but they can be inhaled, used on a bath or in a cold compress placed next to the skin.
- Ascites
- A build up of fluid in the abdomen. Some cancers can cause ascites. The fluid can be drained off through a tube, to make the patient feel more comfortable.
- Astrocytoma
- A type of brain tumour.
- Autologous bone marrow transplant
- A bone marrow transplant where the new, healthy bone marrow comes from the patient themselves. Healthy bone marrow is removed and then high dose chemotherapy or radiotherapy is given. Later, the bone marrow is given back to the patient, so that it can start to regrow.
- Axillary lymph nodes
The lymph nodes in the armpit.
