Glossary

Have you ever been reading a blog, article or social media post and have no idea what the terms or acronyms mean? Well this is your lucky day. I have gathered some stepping stones (see what I did there?) of basics terms to help you build your foundational understanding of these complex terms. Click on the name of the word to head to the direct source for further reading!

Bilateral Masectomy

Bilateral means “having or relating to two sides; affecting both sides”. So a bilateral mastectomy means the surgical removal of both breasts to treat or prevent breast cancer. You will also see acronyms such as:

1. PBM- Preventative/Prophylactic Bilateral Mastectomy

2. PDM- Preventative/ Prophylactic Double Mastectomy

3. BM- Bilateral Mastectomy

Expanders (Tissue Expanders)

A breast tissue expander is an inflatable breast implant designed to stretch the skin and muscle to make room for a future, more permanent implant. A common breast reconstruction technique is tissue expansion, which involves expansion of the breast skin and muscle using a temporary tissue expander.

DIEP Flap

A type of breast reconstruction in which blood vessels called deep inferior epigastric perforators (DIEP), and the skin and fat connected to them are removed from the lower abdomen and used for reconstruction. Muscle is left in place.

Lumpectomy

An operation to remove the cancer and some normal tissue around it, but not the breast itself. Some lymph nodes under the arm may be removed for biopsy. Part of the chest wall lining may also be removed if the cancer is near it. Also called breast-conserving surgery, breast-sparing surgery, partial mastectomy, quadrantectomy, and segmental mastectomy.

Lymph Node

A small bean-shaped structure that is part of the body’s immune system. Lymph nodes filter substances that travel through the lymphatic fluid, and they contain lymphocytes (white blood cells) that help the body fight infection and disease. There are hundreds of lymph nodes found throughout the body. They are connected to one another by lymph vessels. Clusters of lymph nodes are found in the neck, axilla (underarm), chest, abdomen, and groin. For example, there are about 20-40 lymph nodes in the axilla.

Mastectomy

Surgery to remove part or all of the breast. There are different types of mastectomy that differ in the amount of tissue and lymph nodes removed.

1. Total Mastectomy or Simple Mastectomy- Surgery to remove the whole breast. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed.

metastasize

To spread from one part of the body to another. When cancer cells metastasize and form secondary tumors, the cells in the metastatic tumor are like those in the original (primary) tumor. The metastatic tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. This is also known as:

1. Metastatic Cancer (Stage 4)

2. Metastisis

Nipple Sparring Mastectomy

Nipple-sparing mastectomy keeps the nipple and areola intact along with the breast skin.

Prophylactic Mastectomy

Prophylactic is something that means to prevent or protects. So a prophylactic mastectomy is surgery to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by removing one or both breasts before disease develops. Also called preventive mastectomy in which people may use the acronym PM.

Oncologist

A doctor who has special training in diagnosing and treating cancer. Some oncologists specialize in a particular type of cancer treatment. For example, a radiation oncologist specializes in treating cancer with radiation.

Don’t see a term listed? Send me a message and I’ll make sure it’s added!