Words to Know

3-D Treatment Planning
The latest technology using images from CT scans to specifically locate anatomy and determine treatment sites

Alopecia (al-oh-PEE-she-ah)
Hair loss

Antiemetic
A medicine to prevent or relieve nausea or vomiting

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

Biopsy
The removal of a sample of tissue to see whether cancer cells are present

Cancer
A general term for more than 100 diseases that have uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells that can invade and destroy healthy tissue

Chemotherapy
A treatment for cancer using drugs

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

Dosimetrist (Doe-sim-ah-trist)
A person who plans and calculates the proper amount of radiation dose for each treatment

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

Fluoride
A chemical applied to the teeth to prevent tooth decay

Linear Accelerator
A machine that creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers

Malignant
Cancerous (see cancer)

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

Oncologist
A doctor who is a specialist in the treatment of cancer

Palliative Therapy
A treatment that may relieve symptoms without curing the disease

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 use of high-energy penetrating rays

Radiotherapy
See radiation therapy

Simulator
A process using special Xrau pictures to plan radiation treatment so that the area to be treated is precisely located and marked for treatment

Treatment Port
The place on the body at which the radiation beam is aimed, also called treatment area or treatment site

Tumor
An abnormal mass of tissue; tumors are either benign or malignant

X-ray
High-energy radiation that can be used at low levels to diagnosis diseases or at high levels to treat cancer