Common Cancer Terms
Listed are some terms that you may hear
in the course of your cancer treatment.
You can also check cancer.gov/dictionary,
a service of the National Cancer Institute.
Biopsy: Procedure in which a piece of
Acute: Coming on quickly but not lasting tissue is removed from the body. The
tissue is looked at under a microscope to
see if cancer cells are present or to make
other diagnoses.
long. Bone marrow: A semi-hard, spongy
Adenocarcinoma: Cancer that starts in substance inside bones that makes all
types of blood cells.
glands or in organs that have glandular
cells. Examples include cancers of the
breast, bowel, and pancreas.
Bone marrow biopsy: A procedure
in which a needle is inserted into the
hipbone to remove a small piece of bone
marrow that is then looked at under a
microscope.
Adenoma: A noncancerous tumor.
Adjuvant chemotherapy: Treatment
that is usually given after surgery and
is aimed at cancer cells that cannot be
detected but that are thought to exist
because of the stage or type of cancer.
Bone marrow suppression: When
bone marrow is not making blood cells
due to disease or some type of treatment
or toxin (for example, chemotherapy).
Alternative therapy: Therapy that
is generally not viewed by the medical
community as standard. Includes such
practices as the taking of megadoses of
vitamins or magnet therapy.
Bone marrow transplant (BMT): A
procedure in which a person is given
extra bone marrow cells to replace those
lost during treatment wi