ME102 Oncology

By Ivy Vo

Roots

• Bio- : life

• Cancer : crab

• Carcin- : cancer

• Dia- : through or across

• -gnose : knowledge or understanding

• -gnosis : knowledge or understanding

• In- : into

• -ize : to cause to become

• Local- : place or location

• -logy : study or discourse

• -marker : signal or indicator

• Meta- : change or beyond

• Neo- : new

• -oma : tumor

• Onco- : mass, bulk or tumor

• -opsy : sight or vision

• -plasm(a) : formation or growth

• Pro- : before

• Radio- : ray or beam

• Sarx/sarc- : flesh

• -stasis : a stopping

• -vasion : a going

Vocabulary

• Terminology [Root] : Definition

• Oncology [onco-logy] : treatment of cancer

• Tumor : abnormal mass of tissue

• Neoplasm [neo-plasm] : abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells

• Growth : increase in size or number of cells, tissues, or organs

• Carcinoma [carcin-oma] : tumors that can invade nearby tissues

• Sarcoma [sarc-oma] : tumor derived from bone, cartilage, smooth muscle or skeletal muscle cells

• Benign : tumor that is not harmful or cancerous

• Malignant : tumor that is harmful or cancerous

• Cancer [cancer] : disease characterized by uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells

• Localized [local-ize-d] : conditions that are restricted to a particular part of the body

• Metastasis [meta-statsis] : spread of cancer cells from the original tumor to distant areas

• Invasion [in-vasion] : spread of the primary tumor into nearby tissues/organs

• Node : small, rounded mass of tissue within the body

• Stage : the extent or severity of a disease

• Diagnose [dia-gnose] : identifying the nature and cause of a disease or condition

• Risk factor : any variable that increases the likelihood or probability of a condition

• Radiology [radio-logy] : branch of medicine concerned with imagine techniques

• Diagnostic imaging : use of imagine techniques for diagnosis of medical conditions

• Biomarker [bio-marker] : measurable indicators for biological processes

• Biopsy [bio-opsy] : removal of a small sample of tissue or cells from the body

• Prognosis [pro-gnosis] : expected or likely course of a disease

• Therapy : treatment of a disease to restore health or relieve symptoms

• Palliative care : providing relief from symptoms of a serious illness

Idioms/Slangs

Cancer-free - a patient who no longer has signs of cancer

• ex. After chemotherapy, Sara’s latest scans showed that she is cancer-free!

Chemobrain - changes in thinking and memory after chemotherapy

• ex. John is having trouble remembering things because of chemobrain.

Clear margins - successful removal of the tumor

• ex. After the surgery, the report confirmed that the tumor was removed with clear margins.

Watch and wait - no more active treatment, just closely monitoring the patient

• ex. After finishing radiation therapy, the doctor recommended to watch and wait.

Wellness check - regular health assessments to monitor for signs of disease

• ex. Jane scheduled a wellness check with her doctor to ensure her health.