Glossary

The medical name for hair loss

A condition, caused by a lack of red blood cells or a lack of haemoglobin in your red blood cells, which leaves you feeling totally worn out, dizzy and out of breath.

A drug used to stop you feeling pain. A local anaesthetic numbs a specific area. A general anaesthetic sends you to sleep before an operation

The medical name for a painkiller

Drugs used to fight or prevent infection

Drugs used to stop you being or feeling sick

The removal of fluid from your body using a needle

The medical term for a growth in your body that isn’t cancerous

A procedure involving a small amount of tissue being taken from your body so cells can be studied under a microscope. Biopsies are usually done using an anaesthetic

The number of different blood cells (white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets) in your blood

A process involving blood from a blood donor being given to you through an intravenous line

The soft, spongy stuff in your bones that creates blood cells

A general term for lots of different diseases, all of which are caused by cells not behaving normally

A flexible tube, inserted into a blood vessel in your lower arm or hand, so you can be given things like blood transfusions, medicines or an anaesthetic

The name given to types of cancer that start in your skin or in the tissues that cover your internal organs

The group of people responsible for looking after you during cancer treatment. Your care team is part of your multidisciplinary team

A small tube that’s put into your body. Fluids are injected or removed through the tube

A catheter that’s placed into a vein near your chest. It’s used to give you fluids and blood, and to take blood counts. Lots of chemo drugs are given through a central line

Often known as chemo, chemotherapy is a drug treatment used to kill off cancer cells

A type of medical research. These can study a range of things, including the effectiveness of cancer treatments and the side effects of treatments

It stands for computerised tomography and it’s also known as a CAT scan, but what you really need to know is that a CT scan takes X-rays from a lot of different angles to build up detailed images of your body

Drugs used to kill off cancer cells. Chemotherapy uses cytotoxic drugs

The identification of a disease

A person who gives blood, body tissue or organs to be used by another person

A type of radiation (radiotherapy) treatment. It’s ‘external’ because radiation is given from a machine outside of your body

Frozen section – A procedure involving body tissue being taken and then quickly frozen so it can be studied under a microscope. You’ll have pain relief before a frozen section

Or GP for short. Your GP is your normal doctor and was probably the person who referred you for cancer tests in the first place. There’s a good chance you’ll stay in touch with your GP throughout your treatment, as they can help you make decisions about things like where you want to be treated

Healthy tissue that’s taken either from a healthy part of your body or from someone else and then used to replace damaged tissue

The branch of medicine that focuses on blood. Doctors who specialise in blood are called haematologists

The part of red blood cells that transports oxygen around your body

Chemicals that are released by glands in your body. They affect things like your growth, mood and energy levels

Humanpapilloma virus. Some types of HPV are linked to certain cancers, including cervical cancer

The cells and organs in your body that combine to protect you from illness

The medical term for a weakened immune system

Treatment which helps your own immune system kill the cancer cells

The slow injection of drugs, blood and other fluids into your body, usually through a cannula or central line

– Drugs, blood and other fluids that are given to you directly into a vein

The name given to various types of cancer that begin in your bone marrow and affect white blood cells

Cancer that hasn’t spread to other parts of your body

A narrow tube used to give you fluids. If you have a Hickman line fitted, it’s connected to lumens that hang outside your body and are covered in a sterile dressing

A clear fluid that flows through your lymphatic system and fights infection by collecting unwanted bacteria and viruses so they can be filtered out through your lymph nodes

A network of thin tubes that runs throughout your body, transporting lymph and fighting infection. It forms part of your immune system

Glands, found in places like your groin, neck and armpits, that form part of your lymphatic system and help to fight infection by filtering out unwanted bacteria and viruses

The name given to various types of cancer that start in your lymphatic system

The medical name for a growth in your body that is cancerous and may spread

Multidisciplinary team, or the group of health professionals who work together to diagnose, treat and care for young people with cancer

A type of skin cancer that affects cells called melanocytes

A secondary tumour caused by cells from a primary tumour spreading to another part of your body

Swelling caused by a build-up of fluid in your body

A doctor who specialises in treating cancer

Treatment designed to relieve the symptoms of illness. Sometimes people think palliative care is only for people who aren’t expected to be cured, but really it’s any treatment that’s given to relieve symptoms – at any time during your care

The part of your blood that transports blood cells and platelets around your body

The part of your blood that helps to stop bleeding by causing blood to clot

Experts in helping children to play in ways that help them cope, deal with anxieties, make friends and keep developing during cancer treatment. Play specialists usually work on paediatric wards

The place where cancer begins. If cancer spreads to somewhere else in your body, it’s called secondary cancer

The most likely outcome of a disease

An artificial replacement for a part of the body that has to be removed

A kind of external radiotherapy that targets cancer cells with particles called protons instead of x-rays

A type of energy that can be used to damage and destroy cancer cells. X-rays are the main type of radiation used to treat cancer

A cancer treatment that works by targeting cancer cells using various types of radiation. Sometimes radiation therapy is given from outside your body (see ‘External radiation’, above) and sometimes it’s given from inside your body (using liquids and implants)

The cells in your blood that contain haemoglobin, which transports oxygen around your body

The return of a disease, usually after treatment and a period of remission

A period when the signs and symptoms of a disease are no longer evident

The name given to various types of cancer that start in your muscles, bones, nerves, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels or other soft tissues

A type of cancer that has spread from a primary cancer somewhere else in your body

Secondary, usually unpleasant, effects caused by treatments. Side effects can occur after chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery

Very new cells in your body that divide to form other, specific types of cells – for example blood cells, muscle cells and skin cells

A word used to describe diseases that can’t be cured

A type of radiotherapy usually used to treat leukaemia that’s given to your whole body, rather than to a particular area of cancerous cells

An abnormal growth in your body

A substance produced by a tumour. It’s found in your blood and can help doctors understand how a tumour is behaving

Teenage and young adult. TYA is often used to describe young people with cancer who are under 25

A type of catheter that’s put in your bladder and used to help you wee. People who use urinary catheters frequently learn to put them in themselves

The cells in your blood that help to fight infection