Glossary

Here are some words and phrases that you may hear from your Tacoma/Valley Radiation Oncology Centers health team:

Adjuvant therapy:

A treatment method used in addition to the primary therapy. Radiation therapy often is used as an adjuvant to surgery.

Alopecia (al-oh-PEE-she-ah):

Hair loss.

Anesthesia:

Loss of feeling or sensation resulting from the use of certain drugs or gasses.

Antiemetic (an-tee-eh-MET-ik):

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.

Biological therapy:

Treatment by stimulation of the body's immune defense system.

Biopsy:

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

Brachytherapy (BRAK-ee-THER-ah-pee):

Internal radiation treatment achieved by implanting radioactive material directly into the tumor or very close to it. Sometimes called "internal radiation therapy."

Cancer:

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

Catheter:

A thin, flexible tube through which fluids enter or leave the body.

Chemotherapy:

Treatment with anticancer drugs.

Cobalt 60:

A radioactive substance used as a radiation source to treat cancer.

Dietitian (also registered dietician):

A professional who plans diet programs for proper nutrition.

Dosimetrist (do-SIM-uh-trist)

A person who plans and calculates the proper radiation dose for treatment.

Electron beam:

A stream of particles that produces high-energy radiation to treat cancer.

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.

Gamma rays:

High-energy rays that come from a radioactive source such as cobalt-60.

Gray:

A measurement of absorbed radiation dose. 1 Gray = 100 rads.

High dose rate remote brachytherapy:

A type of internal radiation in which each treatment is given in a few minutes while the radioactive source is in place. The source of radioactivity is removed between treatments. Also known as high dose rate remote radiation therapy.

Hyperfractionated radiation:

Division of the total dose of radiation into smaller doses that are given more than once a day.

Implant:

A small container of radioactive material placed in or near a cancer.

Internal radiation:

A type of therapy in which a radioactive substance is implanted into or close to the area needing treatment.

Interstitial radiation:

A radioactive source (implant) placed directly into the tissue (not in a body cavity).

Intracavitary radiation:

A radioactive source (implant) placed in a body cavity such as the chest cavity or the vagina.

Intraoperative radiation:

A type of external radiation used to deliver a large dose of radiation therapy to the tumor bed and surrounding tissue at the time of surgery.

Linear accelerator

A machine that creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers, using electricity to form a stream of fast-moving subatomic particles. Also called mega-voltage (MeV) linear accelerator or a linac.

Malignant:

Cancerous (see cancer).

Medical oncologist:

A doctor who specializes in using chemotherapy to treat 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 specializes in treating cancer.

Palliative care:

Treatment to relieve, rather than cure, symptoms caused by cancer. Palliative care can help people live more comfortably.

Physical therapist:

A health professional trained in the use of treatments such as exercise and massage.

Platelets:

Special blood cells that help stop bleeding.

Prosthesis:

An artificial replacement of a part of the body.

Rad:

Short form for "radiation absorbed dose;" a measurement of the amount of radiation absorbed by tissues (100 rad = 1 Gray).

Radiation:

Energy carried by waves or a steam of particles.

Radiation oncologist:

A doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat cancer.

Radiation physicist:

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

Radiation therapist:

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

Radiation therapy:

The use of high-energy penetrating rays or subatomic particles to treat disease. Types of radiation include x-ray, electron beam, alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays. Radioactive substances include cobalt, radium, iridium, and cesium. (See also gamma rays, brachytherapy, teletherapy, and x-ray.)

Radiologist:

A physician with special training in reading diagnostic x-rays and performing specialized x-ray procedures.

Radiotherapy:

See radiation therapy.

Remote brachytherapy:

See high dose rate remote brachytherapy.

Simulation:

A process involving special x-ray pictures that are used to plan radiation treatment so that the area to be treated is precisely located and marked.

Teletherapy:

Treatment in which the radiation source is at a distance from the body. Linear accelerators and cobalt machines are used in teletherapy.

Treatment port or field:

The place on the body at which the radiation beam is aimed.

Tumor:

An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are either benign or malignant.

Unsealed internal radiation therapy:

Internal radiation therapy given by injecting a radioactive substance into the bloodstream or a body cavity. This substance is not sealed in a container.

White blood cells:

The blood cells that fight infection.

X-ray:

High-energy radiation that can be used at low levels to diagnose disease or at high levels to treat cancer.

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