1/4 or 4/16 -

1 node positive out of four or 4 nodes positive out of 16 (also written 1/4 LN by some)

5-FU -

fluourocil (chemotherapy drug)

ABMT -

Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant (you get your own bone marrow back after HDC)

ACS -

American Cancer Society

adj -

adjuvant chemotherapy

Adria -

Adriamycin, trade name for doxorubicin, a chemo drug

AMA -

American Medical Association

BC -

breast cancer

BCS -

Breast Conservation surgery

BMT -

Bone Marrow Transplant (see HDC and HDC/BMT)

BRCA1 & BRCA2 (pronounced bra-ka one ...) -

Genes, prone to multiple mutations, that are involved in a percentage of the breast cancers

BSE -

Breast Self Examination

ca -

cancer or carcinoma

CA -

cytoxan plus adriamycin (treatment regimen)

CAF -

above with 5-FU (fluourocil) (treatment regimen) (sometimes people write something like CAFx4, which means 4 treatment cycles using CAF)

CAT scan -

computerized tomography scan (see CT, below)

CEF -

cytoxan plus epirubicin plus 5-FU (treatment regimen)

CMF -

cytoxan plus methotrexate plus 5-FU (treatment regimen)

chemo -

chemotherapy

CT -

computerized tomography scan

DCIS -

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (compare to LCIS, below)

Dx -

diagnosis

EIC -

extensive intraductal component

ER/PR -

estrogen/Progesterone (for example, ER+ is estrogen-positive) (for example, PR- is Progesterone negative)

excision, biopsy -

surgery

FAQ -

frequently asked questions

FDA -

U.S. Food & Drug Administration

FU -

5-FU, fluourocil (chemotherapy drug)

GMCSF -

granulocyte macrophage colony factor that stimulates the white blood cells

HDC -

high dose chemotherapy (often used as HDC/BMT) /PSCT or /PSCR - used with HDC, means with peripheral stem cell transplant or rescue

HER2 -

Human EGF-like Receptor No. 2; short for HER2-ECD (Extra-Cellular Domain) (also called Her2/neu)

HRT -

Hormone Replacement Therapy

HDC -

high dose chemotherapy /PSCT or /PSCR - used with HDC, means with peripheral stem cell transplant or rescue

HMO -

Health Maintenance Organization

IDC -

infiltrating ductal carcinoma (most common BC)

lat flap -

latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction

LCIS -

Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (compare to DCIS, above)

LN -

lymph nodes (used by some instead of "N")

lob -

lobular

LPN -

licensed practical nurse

mammo -

mammogram

MD -

medical doctor

med onc -

medical oncologist

mets -

metastases

MRI -

magnetic resonance imagery

MRM -

Modified Radical Mastectomy

MS Contin -

morphine sulphate, time-released morphine pill

M0 or M1 -

whether cancer has metastasized (zero is no, the number 1 is yes) (see "TNM system," below)

MX -

metastasis cannot be, or has not been, assessed

N0, N1, N2, N3 -

whether lymph nodes have cancer

N1 -

Metastasis to movable ipsilateral axillary lymph node(s)

N2 -

Metastasis to ipsilateral axillary lymph node(s) fixed to one another or to other structures

N3 -

Metastasis to ipsilateral internal mammary lymph node(s) (see "TNM system," below)

NX -

lymph nodes cannot be, or have not been, microscopically assessed (see "TNM system," below)

N=1, N=7, etc. -

how many nodes in a sample had cancer, as used on this list (actually, some on the list omit the = sign, with possible confusion of a "N1" listing; does this mean nodes positive, or one node?)

NCI -

National Cancer Institute (part of NIH)

NED -

No evidence of disease

NIH -

National Institutes of Health

NLM -

National Library of Medicine (part of NIH)

onc, onco, or oncodoc -

oncologist

p53 -

a certain tumor-suppressor gene

PDQ -

Physician Data Query - information from NCI

rad -

radiotherapy

RD -

registered dietician

RN -

registered nurse

R2R -

Reach to Recovery ACS program

rad onc -

radiation oncologist

S-phase -

proliferative index % of tumor cells actively dividing at a given time

SPF -

S-phase fraction (same as S-phase)

TAM -

tamoxifen

T0, T1, T2, T3 -

(size of tumor)

T0 -

no evidence of primary tumor

T1 -

<2 cm (less then 2 cm - 1 inch = 2.5 cm),

T2 -

2-5 cm (about 1-2 inches)

T3 -

>5 cm (over 2 inches) (also see "TNM system," below)

TNM system -

one of the systems for staging BC at diagnosis, where T=tumor size (see system above, under "T0"), N=whether lymph nodes have cancer (no or yes, zero or 1) M=whether cancer has metastasized to other organs (no or yes, zero or 1)

TRAM-flap -

one type of breast reconstruction

Tx -

Treatment

ultra -

ultrasound

x4 (or other number) -

used when describing number of chemo treatment cycles, for example - CAFx4

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