Confused by Cancer Lingo?

Benign, malignant, metastasis, carcinoma… receiving a cancer diagnosis can feel like waking up in a foreign country. Like a place where you don’t know the language and customs, and you have no maps to find your way home.

In the first weeks after your diagnosis, you’ll likely meet with many different specialists, undergo a variety of tests, and encounter an array of new cancer- and treatment-related terms. While the language of cancer can be intimidating, learning the basics can help you gain control of your new situation and give you clarity as you make important decisions about your treatment.

It is important to take an active role in your health care and ask your doctor or healthcare team member for a simpler explanation when you don’t understand something.

The Canadian Cancer Society offers an online Glossary that has been developed to help you understand cancer-related words and phrases. The Glossary is available in English or French, and each definition can be printed.

To get started, here are a few common cancer terms you may hear:  

Prognosis:

1. The expected outcome or course of a disease.
2. The chance of recovery or recurrence.

Malignant: Cancerous. Malignant tumours can invade and destroy surrounding tissues and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.

Benign: Not cancerous. Benign tumours do not invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
 

Carcinoma: A type of cancer that starts in epithelial tissues (a layer of cells that lines the body’s hollow organs and glands and makes up the outer layer of the skin).

Metastasis:

1. A tumour formed by cancer cells that have spread from the original (primary) site to another part of the body.
2. The spread of cancer cells from the original (primary) site to other parts of the body. Metastasis can occur by direct growth or extension of a tumour into surrounding tissues or by the spread of cancer cells through the lymphatic system or the blood.

Margins: The edge of a tumor. Margins are often biopsied and studied under a microscope to determine if the tumor has been overcome by treatment and/or surgery. This word applies to malignant as well as benign.

Nodule: A small lump or growth made up of cells or tissues. Nodules can be non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant).

Click here to begin using the Cancer Glossary yourself.