VII- GLOSSARY

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Acinus - set of milk-producing cells

Alopecia – hair loss

Anorexia - loss of appetite

Monoclonal Antibodies: These are proteins designed to attack a very specific part of a cancer cell.

Antiperspirants: deodorants that can prevent perspiration.

Areola - central structure of the breast where the papilla projects

Breast self-examination: how women check their breasts for changes. Doctors and nurses can teach women how to do this.

Benign - quality of a nodule or tumor that is not cancerous or invades neighboring or distant organs

Biopsy - tissue removal for microscopic examination and diagnosis

Cancer - group of diseases in which malignant cells grow out of control and compromise other organs

Candidiasis - ringworm caused by candida albicans

Carcinogenesis - process of transformation of benign into malignant cells under the action of physical, chemical or biological agents

Cell: All living things, from plants to animals, are made up of tiny cells.

Conservative surgery: removing a tumor mass and a part of the breast, but not the entire breast.

Collagen - natural fiber that supports tissues

Dermatitis - any inflammatory process of the skin

Diagnosis: detection of a pathology

Dysplasia - breast tissue disarrangement

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid is an organic compound whose molecules contain the genetic instructions that coordinate the development and functioning of all living beings and some viruses, and which transmit the hereditary characteristics of each living being

Estrogen receptor assay - test to determine if breast cancer contains estrogen receptor protein

Main ducts – carry secretion (milk) to the papilla; are in number from 15 to 20

Eczema - desquamative cutaneous inflammatory process

Edema - accumulation of fluid in some part of the body

Side Effects: Undesired effects that happen because of the treatment, such as hair loss from chemotherapy or tiredness caused by radiation therapy.

Endometrium - tissue that lines the uterine cavity internally

Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four types of basic tissues in the human body - the others are connective, muscular and nervous tissue. Epithelial cells line the organs and can, in some cases, form glands.

Staging - determines the extent of the disease in the body

Estrogen and Progesterone - female hormones produced by the ovaries

Stroma - loose tissue that surrounds the lobes and breast ducts

Etiology - causal agent

Cytological examination - microscopic analysis of cells

Freezing examination - technique in which the removed tissue is frozen and quickly examined under the microscope by the pathologist

Exogenous - external, produced outside the body

expression - compression

Fatigue: feeling tired caused by cancer treatment, different from the feeling of not having enough sleep. It's as if your brain, body and emotions are tired. It is the most common side effect of cancer treatment.

Fascia - fibrous tissue that covers structures

Environmental factors – are non-genetic factors that affect our body. Examples are viruses, toxins, pollutants, smoking, drugs and diet

Risk factors - any factor that increases the chance that a person will have a disease

Prognostic factors - evaluated factors that suggest the severity of the disease and the possibility of cure

Folliculitis - inflammatory process of the hair (hair follicle)

Gene – located in the nuclei of cells and contains all the information inherited from our parents. We inherit half of the genes from the mother and the other half from the father

Adrenal gland - two small hormone-releasing glands located in the upper pole of the kidneys

Grade of Cancer: Breast cancer has a grade of 1 to 3, with 1 being the least severe and 3 the most serious. These numbers represent your body's degree of commitment to cancer.

HER-2 - Also known as c-erb-2 is an oncogene that may be increased in some tumors and represents a worse prognosis

Herceptin – Trastuzumab is a human hormone antibody specific for HER-2 positive tumors

Hyperplasia - disordered tissue growth

Low calorie - low calorie

Hormone – substance that regulates growth, metabolism and reproduction; is secreted by glands

Breast implant: A pad filled with saline water or silicone gel, shaped like your breast, placed under the skin where the breast tissue has been removed.

Immunosuppression - depression of the immune system

In situ - no invasion, restricted to the breast duct

Aromatase Inhibitor - a class of hormonal drugs that block estrogen synthesis in postmenopausal women

Lymphedema - swelling and dilation of obstructed lymphatic vessels

Sentinel lymph node - first tumor draining lymph node

Lymph nodes - lymph nodes that participate in the body's defense system

Mammary lobe - set of acini and small ducts

Mammography: image of the breast using x-rays.

Mastectomy: removal of one or both breasts (in this case called a double mastectomy).

Mastitis - inflammatory process of the breasts

Mastologist - doctor specializing in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant breast diseases

Menopause: when a woman stops menstruating and her body stops making hormones.

Metastasis: when cancer cells detach from the area where they were generated and spread to other regions of the body.

Microcalcification - calcium deposit in breast tissue

mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin): is a protein with a central role in the growth, proliferation and maintenance of cells, which participates in the formation of two complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2

Mutation - change, differentiation