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Chemotherapy
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Chemotherapy and You
Glossary
This glossary reviews the meaning of some words used in Chemotherapy and You. It
also explains some words related to chemotherapy that are not mentioned in this document
but that you may hear from your doctor or nurse.
- Adjuvant therapy:
- Anticancer drugs or hormones given after surgery and/or radiation to help prevent
the cancer from coming back.
Alopecia: - Hair loss.
Anemia: - Having too few red blood cells. Symptoms of anemia include feeling tired, weak, and
short of breath.
Anorexia: - Poor Apetite.
- Antiemetic (an-tee-eh-MET-ik):
- A medicine that prevents or controls nausea and vomiting.
- Benign:
- A term used to describe a tumor that is not cancerous.
- Biological therapy:
- Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune system to fight
infection and disease. Also called immunotherapy.
- Blood count:
- The number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a sample of blood.
This is also called complete blood count (CBC).
- Bone marrow:
- The inner, spongy tissue of bones where blood cells are made.
- Cancer:
- A general term for more than 100 diseases in which abnormal cells grow out of control; a
malignant tumor.
- Catheter:
- A thin, flexible tube through which fluids enter or leave the body.
- Central venous catheter:
- A special thin, flexible tube placed in a large vein. It remains there for as long
as it is needed to deliver and withdraw fluids.
- Chemotherapy:
- The use of drugs to treat cancer.
- Chromosomes:
- Threadlike bodies found in the nucleus, or center part, of a cell that carry the
information of heredity.
- Clinical trials:
- Medical research studies conducted with volunteers. Each study is designed to answer
scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent or treat cancer.
- Colony-stimulating factors:
- Substances that stimulate the production of blood cells. Treatment with
colony-stimulating factors (CSF) can help the blood-forming tissue recover from the
effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These include granulocyte
colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors
(GM-CSF).
- Combination chemotherapy:
- The use of more than one drug to treat cancer.
- Diuretics:
- Drugs that help the body get rid of excess water and salt.
- Gastrointestinal:
- Having to do with the digestive tract, which includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and
intestines.
- Hormones:
- Natural substances released by an organ that can influence the function of other
organs in the body.
- Infusion:
- Slow and/or prolonged intravenous delivery of a drug or fluids.
- Injection:
- Using a syringe and needle to push fluids or drugs into the body; often called a
"shot."
- Intra-arterial (IA):
- Into an artery.
- Intracavitary (IC):
- Into a cavity or space, specifically the abdomen, pelvis, or the chest.
- Intralesional (IL):
- Into the cancerous area in the skin.
- Intramuscular (IM):
- Into a muscle.
- Intrathecal (IT):
- Into the spinal fluid.
- Intravenous (IV):
- Into a vein.
- Malignant:
- Used to describe a cancerous tumor.
- Metastasis:
- When cancer cells break away from their original site and spread to other parts of
the body.
- Palliative care:
- Treatment to relieve, rather than cure, symptoms caused by cancer. Palliative care can
help people live more comfortably.
- Peripheral neuropathy:
- A condition of the nervous system that usually begins in the hands and/or feet with
symptoms of numbness, tingling, burning and/or weakness. Can be caused by certain
anticancer drugs.
- Per os (PO):
- By mouth; orally.
- Platelets:
- Special blood cells that help stop bleeding.
- Port:
- A small plastic or metal container surgically placed under the skin and attached to a
central venous catheter inside the body. Blood and fluids can enter or leave the body
through the port using a special needle.
- Radiation therapy:
- Cancer treatment with radiation (high-energy rays)
- Red blood cells:
- Cells that supply oxygen to tissues throughout the body.
- Remission:
- The partial or complete disappearance of signs and symptoms of disease.
- Stomatitis:
- Sores on the lining of the mouth.
- Subcutaneous (SQ or SC):
- Under the skin.
- Tumor:
- An abnormal growth of cells or tissues. Tumors may be benign (noncancerous) or
malignant (cancerous).
- White blood cells:
- The blood cells that fight infection.
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