axilla: The underarm or armpit
axillary: This refers to the underarm area, including the lymph nodes in that area.
axillary dissection: Surgery to remove lymph nodes from the armpit area.
axillary lymph nodes: Lymph nodes found in the armpit area. They filter the lymph fluid that drains from the breast through the lymph vessels and goes back to the heart.
BCC: Breast Cancer Care
bilateral: Affecting both the right and left sides of body.
bilateral cancer: Cancer that shows up in a pair of organs, such as both breasts or both ovaries.
bilateral mastectomy: Surgery that removes all of both breasts
biopsy: Removing cells or tissues to check under a microscope. There are 3 kinds of biopsy: only a sample of tissue is removed (incisional biopsy or core biopsy; a sample of tissue or fluid is removed with a needle (needle biopsy or fine-needle aspiration); a whole tumor or lesion is removed (excisional biopsy).
breast reconstruction: Surgery to rebuild the breast's shape after a mastectomy.
breast-conserving surgery: An operation that completely removes the breast cancer along with a rim of normal breast tissue around it. Most of the normal breast is saved. There are 3 main ways this surgery is done: lumpectomy, quadrantectomy, and segmental mastectomy.
calcification: Calcium that builds up in the tissues of the breast. It looks like grains of salt and can be seen on a mammogram. It cannot be found by touch.
cancer: The name for diseases in which the body's cells become abnormal and divide without control. Cancer cells may invade nearby tissues. And they may spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.
carcinoma in situ: Cancer that involves only the small area where it started. It has not spread into normal surrounding breast tissue.
chemotherapy: The use of anti-cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells.
cutaneous breast cancer: Cancer that has spread from the breast to the skin.
DCIS [also called ductal carcinoma in situ or intraductal carcinoma]: Abnormal breast cells that involve only the lining of a milk duct. These cells have not spread outside the duct into the normal surrounding breast tissue.
fibrocystic breast disease: Breast gland tissue build-up or cysts. They can become swollen and painful. They are not cancerous. But some types of fibrocystic changes are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in the future.
HCCC: Holistic Cancer Care Centre
Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab): A drug used to treat women with breast cancer that has too many HER2 genes, or too much HER2 protein. (This type of breast cancer is called HER2-positive.)
immune system: The complex group of organs and cells that defends the body against infection or disease.
in situ cancer: Early cancer that has not spread into nearby tissue.
letrozole (brand name: Femara): A drug that lowers the amount of estrogen made in the body after menopause. This can slow or stop the growth of cancer that needs estrogen to grow.
lumpectomy: Surgery to remove the cancer and a small amount of normal tissue around it.
lymphatic fluid [also called lymph]: The special fluid that travels through the lymphatic channels or vessels. It carries cells that help fight infection and disease.
lymphatic system: The tissues and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells that fight infection and disease. This system includes the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes. It also includes the network of thin tubes that carry lymph and white blood cells. These tubes branch, like blood vessels, and pass through all tissues of the body.
lymphoedema (sometimes spelt lymphodema, lymphedema): A condition in which too much lymph fluid collects in tissue. This causes swelling. It can happen in the arm after lymph nodes in the underarm are removed. It can also happen if there is radiation to the lymph nodes or chemotherapy.
mammogram: An x-ray picture of the breast.
mastectomy (sometimes inaccurately spelt masectomy): Surgery that removes the whole breast.
oncologist: A doctor who specialises in taking care of people with cancer. Some specialize in one type of cancer treatment. For example, a radiation oncologist treats cancer with radiation, and a medical oncologist treats cancer with medications. Some oncologists also specialize in one kind of cancer. For example, a breast cancer oncologist diagnoses and treats breast cancer.
oncology: An area of medicine that deals with the study and treatment of cancer.
oncology nurse: A nurse who specializes in treating and caring for people who have cancer.
plastic surgeon: A doctor who does special types of surgery to improve how you look. Examples of plastic surgery are breast reconstruction after mastectomy quadrantectomy.
quadrantectomy: Surgery to remove the part of the breast with cancer. Usually about one quarter of the breast is removed
radical mastectomy: Surgery for breast cancer in which the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed
radiotherapy: The treatment of disease by radiation
raloxifene (brand name: Evista): A drug used to strengthen bones in women after menopause. It is also being studied as a hormonal therapy against breast cancer. It belongs to the family of drugs called "selective estrogen receptor modulators," or "SERMs." Another drug in this family is tamoxifen.
specialist: Someone devoted to the care of a particular part of the body or particular aspect of diagnosis treatment or care.
support group: A group of people with similar disease (or issues) who meet to discuss how better to cope with their cancer and treatment (or issues).
surgeon: A doctor who removes or repairs a part of the body by operating on the patient.
surgery: A procedure to remove or repair a part of the body or to find out whether disease is present.
tamoxifen (brand names: Nolvadex, Apo-Tamox, Tamofen, Tamone): A drug used to fight breast cancer cells that have hormone receptors. It can reduce the risk of a new breast cancer. It can also delay the return of breast cancer and control its spread.