A
- Adjuvant Therapy: Additional treatment after primary treatment to reduce cancer recurrence risk.
- Advanced Cancer: Cancer that has spread and is unlikely to be cured, but treatment may help manage symptoms.
- Areola: Coloured rim around the nipple.
- Aromatase Inhibitors: Drugs to reduce the body's estrogen production.
- Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia: A non-cancerous condition of milk duct cells.
- Axilla: The underarm area (armpit).
- Axillary Dissection/Surgery: Removal of some armpit lymph nodes.
- Axillary Lymph Nodes: Lymph nodes in and around the armpit.
- Axillary Web Syndrome (also known as cording): Tight cords of tissue down the arm.
B
- Benign: Non-cancerous.
- Biopsy: Removal of tissue samples to examine and diagnose disease.
- BRCA1/BRCA2 Mutation: Gene fault that increases the risk of breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer.
- Breast Oedema: Swelling due to fluid build-up in breast tissue.
- Breast Prosthesis (also called breast form): Artificial breast to recreate natural breast shape.
C
- Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment: Thinking and memory problems after treatment, also known as ‘chemo brain’.
- Cellulitis: Skin infection that can occur after lymph gland removal.
- Chemotherapy: Cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill or slow cancer cell growth.
- Clear Margin: Surrounding tissue removed during surgery that does not contain cancer cells.
- Clinical Trials: Studies involving eligible patients to determine if there is a more effective treatment option than currently offered.
- Cold Cap: Cap worn during chemotherapy that is connected to a cooling system to minimise hair loss.
- Complimentary Therapies: Additional therapies used alongside conventional medicine treatments that may include massage, acupuncture, and yoga.
D
- DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) flap: A type of reconstruction that uses tissue from the abdomen to reconstruct a breast/s after a mastectomy.
- Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS): Abnormal cells in breast ducts that increase invasive cancer risk.
- Ducts: Tubes carrying milk to the nipple.
E
- Early Menopause: Typically, a side effect of cancer drugs, this means that a woman will be put into menopause under 45 years of age.
- Endocrine Therapy: Treatment to stop or slow the growth of hormone-positive cancer. Also called hormone therapy.
- Estrogen: A sex hormone primarily produced by the ovaries and, after menopause, by fat cells.
G
- Gene Mutation: When a DNA gene is damaged or changed in such a way as to alter the genetic message carried by that gene.
- Genomic Assay: Test providing information on cancer recurrence risk and benefit of chemotherapy.
H
- Hormone Receptors: Proteins on the cell surface that bind to specific hormones.
I
- Immunotherapy: A treatment that helps the body’s immune system fight cancer.
- Intravenous Infusion: The injection of treatment drugs or other necessary fluids into the bloodstream via a needle.
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC): A type of breast cancer that starts in the milk ducts and spreads to other parts of healthy breast tissue.
- Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC): A type of breast cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands (lobules) of the breast and spreads to surrounding breast tissue.
K
- Klinefelter syndrome: A genetic disorder in males characterised by the presence of two X chromosomes instead of one.
L
- Lobules: Milk-producing glands of the breast.
- Lumpectomy: removal of part of breast tissue. Same as wide local excision.
- Lymphatic System: A network of vessels, nodes, and organs that remove excess fluid, absorb fatty acids, transport fat, and produce immune cells.
- Lymph Nodes: Small structures that collect and destroy bacteria and viruses.
- Lymphoedema: Swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid.
- Lymph Vessels: Thin tubes that carry lymph fluid throughout the body.
M
- Mammogram: A low-dose x-ray of the breast tissue.
- Margin/Surgical Margin: The edge of tissue removed during surgery, with a clear or negative margin meaning no cancer cells have been found and a positive margin meaning further surgery is needed.
- Mastectomy: Surgery to remove the breast to treat or prevent breast cancer. Bilateral mastectomy is the removal of both breasts.
- Menopause: The end of menstruation.
- Metastasis (Metastases): Cancer that has spread from the primary site to another part of the body.
- Multidisciplinary Team: A group of healthcare professionals who specialise in different areas of care, collaborate, and coordinate with patients, and regularly meet and work together to ensure their patients achieve the best possible outcome.
N
- Neoadjuvant Therapy: Therapy given before surgery to enhance its success, such as chemotherapy.
O
- Osteoporosis: A condition characterised by thinning and weakening bones, leading to pain and fractures.
- Ovarian Ablation: The stopping of estrogen production by surgically removing the ovaries or giving a dose of radiation to them.
P
- Pathologist: A doctor who interprets test results.
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS): A government-funded program in Australia that provides financial assistance for eligible individuals to cover the cost of selected medications.
- Peripheral Neuropathy: Numbness, weakness, tingling, or pain in the hands and feet caused by damage to peripheral nerves.
- Progesterone: A sex hormone primarily produced by the ovaries that prepares the uterus for pregnancy.
R
- Radiation Therapy: Targeted radiation to kill or damage cancer cells.
- Recurrence: The return of a disease after a period of improvement.
S
- Secondary Breast Cancer: Also known as Stage 4, advanced or metastatic, this cancer has spread to different parts of the body such as the liver, bones, or brain.
- Seroma: A fluid collection under a wound that may need draining after surgery.
- Sentinel Lymph Node: The first lymph node to which cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary breast tumour.
- Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB): A procedure where the sentinel lymph nodes are identified, removed, and pathologically examined to determine whether cancer cells are present.
- Systemic Therapy: Treatments such as hormone therapy and chemotherapy are considered systemic because they can travel through the bloodstream and reach all cells throughout the body. Surgery and radiation would not be classified as systemic because they only treat one area of the body.
T
- Targeted therapy: Drugs that target specific cancer cell features to stop growth.
- Tomosynthesis: 3D digital x-ray mammogram.
- Tumour: New or abnormal tissue growth.
W
- Wide local excision: Surgical removal of cancer and some surrounding healthy tissue.
