Cancer Glossary

Anemia:

Lesion:

Nodule:

Polyp:

Low red blood cell count.

Biomarker:

Substance made by cancerous and sometimes normal cells that can evaluate the effectiveness of treatment or check for reoccurring cancer.

Immune system:

Helps the body resist infection from bacteria or viruses, and may also help the body fight some cancers.

Abnormal body tissue, which may be a lump, mass, tumor, spot or change in the way the skin look or feels.

Lymph node:

Removes cell waste, germs and other harmful substances from the body. Cancers often spread first to nearby lymph nodes.

Metastasis:

Cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.

A small, solid lump that can be felt or seen on an imaging test.

Neutropenia:

A drop in white blood cells and increase in infection risk.

Prognosis:

A prediction of the course of the disease and chances of survival.

A growth commonly found in such organs as the rectum, uterus, and nose that can be cancerous or noncancerous.

Resection:

Surgery to remove part or all of an organ or other structure.

Tumor:

An abnormal lump or collection of cells that can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous.)

White blood cells:

Defends the body against infections and can be reduced by certain cancer treatments.