Oncologists are doctors who diagnose cancer, but the people who administer the radiation are radio-oncology technicians. If you are interested in helping people and love math and physics, this is the field for you. If you patients speak only English, you’ll need to know some vocabulary from this field of study.
Glossary
- adenoma
- a benign tumor formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue.
- alopecia
- Hair loss.
- antibiotic
- A medicine such as penicillin that inhibits or destroys microorganisms.
- antiemetic
- A medicine to prevent or relieve nausea or vomiting.
- anuria
- Anuria means non-passage of urine, sometimes caused by radiation.
- benign tumor
- A tumor that is not cancerous.
- biopsy
- An examination of tissue removed from a living body to discover the presence, cause, or extent of a disease.
- bone marrow
- a soft fatty substance in the cavities of bones, in which blood cells are produced (often taken as typifying strength and vitality)
- brachytherapy
- The treatment of cancer, especially prostate cancer, by the insertion of radioactive implants directly into the tissue.
- bruise
- An injury appearing as an area of discoloured skin on the body, caused by a blow or impact rupturing underlying blood vessels.
- burn
- Injury to tissues caused by the contact with heat, flame, chemicals, electricity, or radiation.
- cancer
- Any type of malignant growth or tumour, caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division.
- carcinogenesis
- The formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells.
- carcinoma
- Malignant new growth made up of epithelial cells tending to infiltrate surrounding tissues and to give rise to metastases.
- Chemotherapy
- The treatment of disease by the use of chemical substances.
- colonoscopy
- A medical procedure where a long, flexible, tubular instrument is used to view the inner lining of the colon and the rectum.
- 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.
- cyst
- A thin-walled, hollow organ or cavity containing a liquid secretion.
- diagnosis
- The identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms.
- diarrhea
- a condition in which feces are discharged from the bowels frequently and in a liquid form.
- DNA
- A chemical substance in plant and animal cells that tells the cells what to do and when to do it.
- dose
- The total energy of ionizing radiation absorbed by unit mass of living tissue, usually measured in grays (SI unit) or rads.
- dosimeter
- An instrument for measuring the dose of X-rays or other radiation absorbed by matter or the intensity of a source of radiation.
- dosimetrist
- A person who plans and calculates the proper amount of radiation dose for each treatment.
- dosimetry
- Measuring the dose of radiation emitted by a radioactive source.
- dyspnea
- Difficult or labored breathing.
- epidemiology
- a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
- exposure
- A measure of the amount of ionizing radiation at the surface of a person’s body, calculated by multiplying milliamperage by exposure time in seconds.
- external radiation
- Radiation therapy that uses a machine located outside of the body to aim high-energy rays at cancer cells
- gamma ray
- Electromagnetic radiation emitted from the nucleus of an atom by radioactive decay and having energies in a range from ten thousand (104) to ten million (107) electron volts.
- genitourinary
- relating to the genital and urinary organs or functions
- gland
- An organ in the human or animal body that secretes particular chemical substances for use in the body or for discharge into the surroundings.
- gynecologic tumours
- Gynecologic cancers are malignant tumors within the female reproductive organs.
- heal
- Cause a wound, injury, or person to become healthy again
- hematology
- A medical science that deals with the blood and blood-forming organs
- hematuria
- Blood in the urine.
- hemoptysis
- Coughing up of blood or bloody sputum from the lungs or airway.
- hormonal therapy
- The use of hormones in medical treatment.
- iatrogenic
- Illness caused inadvertently by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures.
- immune system
- A system (including the thymus and bone marrow and lymphoid tissues) that protects the body from foreign substances and pathogenic organisms by producing the immune response
- immunotherapy
- Treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response.
- inflammation
- A localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful.
- injection
- A substance that is introduced into a organism, especially by means of a hypodermic syringe, as a liquid into the veins or muscles of the body.
- intensity modulated radiation therapy
- A type of three-dimensional radiation therapy that uses computer-generated images to match radiation to the size and shape of a tumor
- ionizing radiation
- Any radiation, as a stream of alpha particles or x-rays, that produces ionization as it passes through a medium.
- isodose
- A radiation dose of equal intensity given to more than one area in a patient’s body.
- isotope
- One of two or more atoms with the same atomic number that contain different numbers of neutrons
- kinetic energy
- Energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion
- laparoscopy
- A surgical procedure in which a fiber-optic instrument is inserted through the abdominal wall to view the organs in the abdomen or to permit a surgical procedure.
- lesion
- Any structural change in a bodily part resulting from injury or disease
- linear accelerator
- A machine that creates high-energy radiation to treat cancers
- lumpectomy
- a surgery to remove the tumor
- lung cancer
- Carcinoma of the lungs; one of the commonest forms of cancer
- lymph node
- Each of a number of small swellings in the lymphatic system where lymph is filtered and lymphocytes are formed.
- lymphedema
- swelling in the legs caused by lymph accumulating in the tissues in the affected areas.
- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- A form of medical imaging that measures the response of the atomic nuclei of body tissues to high-frequency radio waves when placed in a strong magnetic field, and that produces images of the internal organs.
- malignant
- Cancerous.
- 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
- neoadjuvant therapy
- Treatment given as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment, which is usually surgery, is given.
- neoplasm
- A new and abnormal growth of tissue in some part of the body, characteristic of cancer.
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- A cancer that starts in cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.
- osteonecrosis
- The destruction and death of bone tissue, such as from ischemia, infection, malignant neoplastic disease, or trauma.
- palliative therapy
- A treatment that may relieve symptoms without curing the disease
- prostate cancer
- Cancer of the prostate gland; one of the most common malignancies in men in the US
- radiation oncologist
- A doctor who has 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 treatment of cancer using X-rays or similar forms of radiation.
- radiosurgery
- A single high dose fraction of radiation, stereotactically directed to an intracranial region.
- radiotherapy
- The treatment of cancer, by means of alpha or beta particles emitted from an implanted or ingested radioisotope, or by means of a beam of high-energy radiation.
- recovery
- A return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.
- sarcoma
- Any of a group of tumors usually arising from connective tissue.
- scan
- To examine or map the body, or one or more organs or regions of it, by gathering information with a sensing device, such as a moving detector or a sweeping beam of radiation.
- side effect
- A secondary, typically undesirable effect of a drug or medical treatment.
- simulator
- A radiation generator that operates in the diagnostic X-ray range, used to orientate a radiation beam and for visualization and imaging of the treatment area.
- stem cell
- An undifferentiated cell.
- stenosis
- The abnormal narrowing of a passage in the body.
- sterile
- Free from bacteria or other living microorganisms.
- symptoms
- A physical or mental feature that is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient.
- tachycardia
- A rapid cardiac rate, usually 160–190 per minute, originating from an atrial locus.
- tomotherapy
- A type of radiation therapy in which the radiation is delivered slice-by-slice.
- total body irradiation (TBI)
- External beam irradiation involving exposure of the entire body.
- tumour
- A mass of tissue formed by a new growth of cells, normally independent of the surrounding structures
- wheezing
- Breathing with a whistling or rattling sound in the chest.
- womb
- The uterus of a woman.
- xerostomia
- Abnormal dryness of the mouth resulting from decreased secretion of saliva.
- x-ray
- A photographic or digital image of the internal composition of a part of the body, produced by x-rays being passed through it and being absorbed to different degrees.
