Adenocarcinoma Specific form of breast cancer arising in gland-forming tissue

Alopecia Hair loss, a common side effect of chemotherapy

Areola The pigmented area around the nipple

Axillary lymph nodes glands in the armpit that fight harmful invaders such as bacteria. The presence of breast cancer cells in these lymph nodes generally indicates that cancer is more likely to spread elsewhere in the body.

Axillary lymph node dissection Surgical removal of lymph nodes in the armpit area

Atypical hyperplasia Cells that are abnormal in shape and increased in number

Benign Not cancerous

Bilateral Involving both sides, such as both breasts

Biopsy Removal of tissue, either with a needle or through surgery. This term does not indicate how much tissue will be removed.

Bone marrow Tissue that fills the center of bones

BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 Normal genes that can carry a mutation that may increase a person’s risk of developing breast cancer

Breast reconstruction Creation of an artificial breast by a plastic surgeon after mastectomy

Calcification Small calcium deposits in the breast tissue that can be seen by mammography

Carcinogen Substance that causes cancer

Carcinoma Cancer arising in epithelial tissue (outer layer tissue such as skin, glands, and lining of internal organs). Most cancers are carcinomas.

Chemotherapy Treatment of disease with certain chemicals. The term usually refers to cancer cell-killing drugs given for cancer treatment.

Core biopsy Type of needle biopsy where a small core of tissue is removed from a lump without surgery

Cyst Fluid-filled sac

Dissection Surgical removal

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) Ductal cancer cells that have not grown outside of their site of origin, sometimes referred to as precancer

Estrogen Female sex hormone produced by the ovaries, placenta, adrenal glands (glands near the kidney that produce hormones)

Estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) tumor status indicating sensitivity to hormones. Breast cancer patients with ER+ tumors are often treated with chemical estrogen blockers such as tamoxifen or anastrozole

Fine needle aspiration Procedure in which a surgeon uses a needle and syringe to remove cells from tissue to determine whether cancer cells are present

Genetic Relating to genes or inherited characteristics

Hyperplasia Excessive growth of cells

In situ In the site of. In regard to cancer, in situ refers to tumors that have not spread past their site of origin.

Invasive cancer Cancers that are capable of going beyond their site of origin and invading neighboring tissue

Lesion A point or patch of a disease

Lumpectomy Surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from the breast and a small rim of normal tissue around it

Lymph nodes Glands found throughout the body that fight harmful invaders such as bacteria. The presence of cancer cells in lymph nodes adjacent to a primary tumor generally indicates that cancer is more likely to spread elsewhere in the body.

Lymphedema Swelling of arm that can follow axillary node removal as part of breast cancer surgery. It can be temporary or permanent and occur immediately or any time after.

Malignant Cancerous

Mastectomy Surgery to remove the breast

Metastasis Spread of cancer to an organ beyond the location in which it originated

Oncogene Cancer gene present in the body. These can be activated by carcinogens and cause cells to grow uncontrollably.

Oncology The study of cancer

Pathologist Health care provider who specializes in examining tissue and diagnosing disease

Radiation therapy Treatment with high-energy rays (X-rays) to kill cancer cells

Radical mastectomy Surgical removal of a breast

Radiologist An individual specializing in the use of X-rays to diagnose or treat disease

Recurrence Return of cancer after it seems to have completely disappeared

Remission Disappearance of detectable disease

Sentinel Node Biopsy Removal of only one or a few lymph nodes to determine whether breast cancer is likely to spread elsewhere in the body. The sentinel node is the first lymph node to which a tumor drains (and therefore, the most appropriate lymph node to examine for evidence of cancer)

Side effect Unintentional or undesirable secondary effect of treatment

Staging of Breast Cancer Stage is determined by the size of the tumor and the presence or absence of cancer cells in lymph nodes and in other parts of the body. Staging is important because it establishes how far the disease has spread, helping doctors to develop a treatment plan.

• Stage 1: The tumor is 3/4″or less with no evidence of spread to lymph nodes or distant sites.
• Stage 2A: A tumor is less than 3/4″ with spreading to lymph nodes, or is a large tumor and no spreading to lymph nodes.
• Stage 2B: A tumor is between 3/4″ and 2″ with spreading to lymph nodes, or is a very large tumor without spreading to lymph nodes.
• Stage 3A: A big tumor (over 2″) with spreading to lymph nodes or fixation of lymph nodes to one another or other structures.
• Stage 3B: If the lymph nodes inside the chest are involved, or the tumor extends into the chest wall, or involves and ulcerates the skin.
• Stage 4: There are distant metastases (to bone, liver, or lung, for example), or skin and chest wall involvement beyond breast area.

Tamoxifen (Nolvadex®) Drug that blocks hormones from stimulating cell or tumor growth in the breast, reducing the risk of recurrence for women whose breast cancer is receptive to estrogen

Tumor Abnormal mass of tissue. A tumor can be benign or malignant

Ultrasound The use of sound waves to obtain images for medical diagnosis

Definitions taken from our newsletters and from Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book, Third Edition, by Susan Love, M.D., with Karen Lindsey (Perseus, 2000)