Radiation Oncology

Vocabulary List

adenoma

a benign tumor formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue

alopecia

Hair loss

antibiotic

a medicine (such as penicillin or its derivatives) that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms.

antiemetic

A medicine to prevent or relieve nausea or vomiting

anuria

Anuria means nonpassage ofurine. It can be cause by radiation

benign

A growth that is not a cancer and does not spread to other parts of the body

benign tumor

a tumor that is not cancerous

biopsy

an examination of tissue removed from a living body to discover the presence, cause, or extent of a disease.

bone marrow

a soft fatty substance in the cavities of bones, in which blood cells are produced (often taken as typifying strength and vitality)

brachytherapy

The treatment of cancer, especially prostate cancer, by the insertion of radioactive implants directly into the tissue.

breast cancer

cancer of the breast; one of the most common malignancies in women in the US

bremsstrahlung

electromagnetic radiation produced by the acceleration or esp. the deceleration of a charged particle after passing through the electric and magnetic fields of a nucleus.

bruise

An injury appearing as an area of discoloured skin on the body, caused by a blow or impact rupturing underlying blood vessels:

burn

injury to tissues caused by the contact with heat, flame, chemicals, electricity, or radiation. First degree burns show redness; second degree burns show vesication; third degree burns show necrosis through the entire skin. Burns of the first and second degree are partial-thickness burns, those of the third degree are full-thickness burns.

cancer

any type of malignant growth or tumour, caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division: it may spread through the lymphatic system or blood stream to other parts of the body

cancerous cells

a cell that divides and reproduces abnormally with uncontrolled growth.

carcinogenesis

the fact that other cancers get born fter we give radiation to a patient

carcinoma

malignant new growth made up of epithelial cells tending to infiltrate surrounding tissues and to give rise to metastases

chemotherapy

the treatment of disease by the use of chemical substances, esp. the treatment of cancer by cytotoxic and other drugs

colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is a medical procedure where a long, flexible, tubular instrument called the colonoscope is used to view the entire inner lining of the colon (large intestine) and the rectum.

conformal therapy

Shaping the radiation beam specifically to the area of interest (using 3-D treatment planning); treating as little normal tissue as possible which causes fewer side effects

curative

"able or tending to cure "

curietherapy

the treatment of disease (especially cancer) by exposure to a radioactive substance.

cyst

in an animal or plant, a thin-walled, hollow organ or cavity containing a liquid secretion; a sac, vesicle, or bladder

diagnosis

the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms.

diarrhea

a condition in which feces are discharged from the bowels frequently and in a liquid form.

dna (deoxyribonucleic acid)

A chemical substance in plant and animal cells that tells the cells what to do and when to do it. DNA is the information about what each person inherits from his or her parents

dose

the total energy of ionizing radiation absorbed by unit mass of material, esp of living tissue; usually measured in grays (SI unit) or rads

dosimeter

an instrument for measuring the dose of X-rays or other radiation absorbed by matter or the intensity of a source of radiation

dosimetrist

A person who plans and calculates the proper amount of radiation dose for each treatment

dosimetry

measuring the dose of radiation emitted by a radioactive source

dyspnea

difficult or labored breathing.

epidemiology

a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population

exposure

in radiology, a measure of the amount of ionizing radiation at the surface of the irradiated object, such as a person's body; calculated by multiplying milliamperage times exposure time in seconds, expressed in units of milliampere seconds (mAs

external radiation

Radiation therapy that uses a machine located outside of the body to aim high-energy rays at cancer cells

gamma ray

Electromagnetic radiation emitted from the nucleus of an atom by radioactive decay and having energies in a range from ten thousand (104) to ten million (107) electron volts.

genitourinary

relating to the genital and urinary organs or functions

gland

an organ in the human or animal body that secretes particular chemical substances for use in the body or for discharge into the surroundings.

gynecologic tumours

Gynecologic cancers are malignant tumors within the female reproductive organs.

heal

Cause (a wound, injury, or person) to become sound or healthy again

hematology

a medical science that deals with the blood and blood-forming organs

hematuria

blood in the urine.

hemoptysis

Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or bloody sputum from the lungs or airway. It may be either self-limiting or recurrent. Massive hemoptysis is defined as 200-600 mL of blood coughed up within a period of 24 hours or less.

homogeneity

we talk about homogeneity when the radiation tht we gave to the patient went exactly where we wanted.

hormonal therapy

Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also referred to as hormonal therapy.

hormonal therapy

hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also referred to as hormonal therapy

hormonotherapy

treatment by the use of hormones; endocrinotherapy.

iatrogenic

induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures

ill

Suffering from an illness or disease or feeling unwell:

immune system

a system (including the thymus and bone marrow and lymphoid tissues) that protects the body from foreign substances and pathogenic organisms by producing the immune response

immunotherapy

Treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response.

inflammation

a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful, esp. as a reaction to injury or infection.

injection

. A substance that is introduced into a organism, especially by means of a hypodermic syringe, as a liquid into the veins or muscles of the body.

intensity modulated radiation therapy

A type of three-dimensional radiation therapy that uses computer-generated images to match radiation to the size and shape of a tumor

ionizing radiation

any radiation, as a stream of alpha particles or x-rays, that produces ionization as it passes through amedium.

isodose

"in radiotherapy a radiation dose of equal intensity to more than one body area. "

isotope

one of two or more atoms with the same atomic number that contain different numbers of neutrons

kinetic energy

energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion

laparoscopy

a surgical procedure in which a fiber-optic instrument is inserted through the abdominal wall to view the organs in the abdomen or to permit a surgical procedure.

lesion

"any structural change in a bodily part resulting from injury or disease "

linear accelerator

A machine that creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers

lumpectomy

a surrgery to remove the tumor

lung cancer

carcinoma of the lungs; one of the commonest forms of cancer

lymph node

each of a number of small swellings in the lymphatic system where lymph is filtered and lymphocytes are formed.

lymphedema

swelling (usually in the legs) caused by lymph accumulating in the tissues in the affected areas

magnetic resonance imaging

a form of medical imaging that measures the response of the atomic nuclei of body tissues to high-frequency radio waves when placed in a strong magnetic field, and that produces images of the internal organs

malignant

Cancerous

malignant tumor

a tumor that is malignant and tends to spread to other parts of the body

mammography

Mammography is the study of the breast using x ray

metastasis

The spread of a cancer from one part of the body to another; cells in the second tumor are like those in the original tumor

neoadjuvant therapy

Treatment given as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment, which is usually surgery, is given.

neoplasm

a new and abnormal growth of tissue in some part of the body, esp. as a characteristic of cancer.

non hodgkin lymphomas

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system

osteonecrosis

the destruction and death of bone tissue, such as from ischemia, infection, malignant neoplastic disease, or trauma

palliative therapy

A treatment that may relieve symptoms without curing the disease

planning target volume

the volume that involved the tumor and uncertainties in planning or treatment delivery

prostate cancer

cancer of the prostate gland; one of the most common malignancies in men in the US

PSA (prostate-specific antigen)

A marker used to determine prostate disease; it may be benign or malignant

pulmonary metastases

pulmonry metastases happen when a lung cancer give bones cancer because the cells are distroyed

radiation oncologist

A doctor who specialized in using radiation to treat disease

radiation physicist

A person trained to ensure that the radiation machine delivers the right amount of radiation to the treatment sites

radiation therapist

A person with special training who runs the equipment that delivers the radiation

radiation therapy

the treatment of disease, esp. cancer, using X-rays or similar forms of radiation.

radiosurgery

Originally defined by the Swedish neurosurgeon Lars Leksell as “a single high dose fraction of radiation, stereotactically directed to an intracranial region of interest

radiotherapy

the treatment of disease, esp cancer, by means of alpha or beta particles emitted from an implanted or ingested radioisotope, or by means of a beam of high-energy radiation

recovery

a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.

sarcoma

any of a group of tumors usually arising from connective tissue, although the term now includes some of epithelial origin; most are malignant.

scan

to examine or map the body, or one or more organs or regions of it, by gathering information with a sensing device, such as a moving detector or a sweeping beam of radiation.

side effects

a secondary, typically undesirable effect of a drug or medical treatment

simulator

A radiation generator that operates in the diagnostic X-ray range, which can orientate a radiation beam toward a patient with parameters similar to those proposed for therapeutic radiation and afford direct X-ray fluoroscopic visualisation and imaging of the treatment area. A simulator is not designed to deliver therapeutic radiation.

stem cell

an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation.

stenosis

the abnormal narrowing of a passage in the body.

sterilized

make (something) free from bacteria or other living microorganisms

symptoms

a physical or mental feature that is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient.

tachycardia

a rapid cardiac rate, usually 160–190 per minute, originating from an atrial locus.

t-cell lymphoma

it's type of blood cancer

tetanus

Also called tetanus bacillus. Bacteriology . the bacterium, Clostridium tetani, causing this disease

TNM staging

 staging of tumors according to three basic components: primary tumor (T), regional nodes (N), and metastasis (M). Adscripts are used to denote size and degree of involvement; for example, 0 indicates undetectable, and 1, 2, 3, and 4 a progressive increase in size or involvement. Thus, a tumor may be described as T1, N2, M0.

tomotherapy

is a type of radiation therapy in which the radiation is delivered slice-by-slic. This method of delivery differs from other forms of external beam radiation therapy in which the entire tumor volume is irradiated at one time.

total body irradiation (tbi)

external beam irradiation involving exposure of the entire body

tumour

a mass of tissue formed by a new growth of cells, normally independent of the surrounding structures

wheezing

(of a person) breathe with a whistling or rattling sound in the chest, as a result of obstruction in the air passages.

womb

the uterus of the human female and certain higher mammals.

xerostomia

abnormal dryness of the mouth resulting from decreased secretion of saliva

x-ray

a photographic or digital image of the internal composition of something, esp. a part of the body, produced by X-rays being passed through it and being absorbed to different degrees by different materials