Go back to the index of this complete glossary to find the definition of all medical terms for cancers, treatments and health.
Cancer Glossary - C
- Calcifications : Small calcium deposits in the breast tissue that can be seen
by mammography.
- Cancer : A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control.
Cancer cells can invade nearby tissue and can spread through the bloodstream
and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.
- Carcinogen : A substance or agent that is known to cause cancer.
- Carcinoma : Cancer that begines in the lining or covering of
an organ.
- Carcinoma in situ : Cancer that involves only the
tissue in which it began; it has not spread to other tissues.
- Cartilage : Firm, rubbery tissue that chusions bones at joints.
- Catheter : A thin plastic tube. When a catheter is placed in a
vein, it provides a pathway for drugs, nutrients, or blood products. Blood samples
also can be removed through the catheter. When placed in a body cavity (bladder) it provides a pathway to drain fluid
away from the body.
- Cervical canal : The passage in the cervix that connects the body
of the uterus with the upper vagina.
- CEA assay : a laboratory test to measure the level of carcinoembryonic antigen
(CEA), a substance that is sometimes found in an increased amount in the blood
of colorectal cancer patients.
- Cell : The smallest living unit. All living tissue is composed of cells.
- Central nervous system : The brain and the spinal cord. Also called CNS.
- Cerebellum : The portion of the brain in the back of the
head between the cerebrum and the brain stem.
- Cerebral hemispheres : The two halves of the cerebrum.
- Cerebrospinal fluid : Watery fluid flowing around the
brain and spinal cord. Also called CSF.
- Cerebrum : Largest part of the brain.
- Cervix : The lower, narrow end of the uterus.
- Chemotherapy : Treatment with anticancer drugs.
- Chondrosarcoma : Cancer in cartilage.
- Clinical trials : Research studies that involve patients.
- Cobalt 60 : Radioactive substance used as a radiation source to treat cancer.
- Colectomy : An operation to remove all or part of the colon.
In a partial colectomy, the surgeon removes only the cancerous part of the colon
and a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue.
- Colon : The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested
food. The remaining material, solid waste called stool, moves through the colon
to the rectum and leaves the body through the anus. The colon is sometimes called
the large bowel or the large intestine.
- Colonoscope : a flexible, lighted instrument used to view
the inside of the colon.Colonoscopy (ko-lun-OS-ko-pee) An examination in which
the doctor looks at the colon through the colonoscope.
- Colonoscopy : an examination in which the doctor looks at the colon through the colonoscope.
Read why colonoscopy can’t always prevent metastatic liver cancer
- Colony-stimulating factors : Substances that stimulate the production of blood
cells. Treatment with colony-stimulating factors (CSF) can help the blood-forming
tissue recover from the effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These
include granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophyage
colony-stimulating factors (GM-CSF).
- Colostomy : An opening created by a surgeon into the colon
from the outside of the body. A colostomy provides a new path for waste material
to leave the body after part of the colon has been removed.
- Colposcope : A magnifying instrument used to examine the vagina
and cervix.
- Common bile duct : Bile ducts are passageways that carry bile. Two major bile
ducts join together to form the common bile duct, which empties into the upper
part of the small intestine (the part next to the stomach.
- Conization : The surgical removal of a cone-shaped piece of
tissue from the cervix and cervical canal. Conization may be used to diagnose
or to treat a cervical condition. Also called cone biopsy.
- Corpus : The body of the uterus.
- Craniopharyngioma : Type of brain tumor.
- Craniotomy : An operation in which an opening is made in
the skull so the doctor can reach the brain.
- Cryosurgery : Treatment with an instrument that freezes
and destroys abnormal tissues.
- Cryptorchidism : A condition in which one or both testicles
fail to move from the abdomen, where they develop before birth, into the scrotum;
also called undescended testicles.
- CT or CAT scan : Detailed pictures of areas of the body created by a computer
linked to an x-ray machine. Also called computed tomography scan or computed
axial tomography scan.
- Cyst : A closed sac or capsule, usually filled with fluid or semisolid material.
- Cystectomy : Surgery to remove the bladder.
- Cystoscope : An instrument that allows the doctor to see inside
the bladder and remove tissue samples or small tumors.
- Cytotoxic : Causing the death of cells - usually refers to
drugs used in chemotherapy.