On Cancer: Meet Head and Neck Cancer Surgeon Jatin Shah

In medicine, describes a tumor or disease that forms, grows, or spreads quickly. It may also describe treatment that is more severe or intense than usual.

A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. There are several main types of cancer. Carcinoma is a cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs. Sarcoma is a cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Leukemia is a cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow, and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood. Lymphoma and multiple myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system. Central nervous system cancers are cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. Also called malignancy.

In chemistry, M is the amount of a substance that has 6.023 x 10(23) atoms or molecules of that substance. Also called mole (chemical).

In medicine, watching a patient’s condition but not giving treatment unless symptoms appear or change.

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

By or having to do with the mouth.

Medical doctor.

In medicine, the act of a doctor in which a patient is sent to another doctor for additional healthcare services.

An organ that is part of the digestive system. The stomach helps digest food by mixing it with digestive juices and churning it into a thin liquid.

A doctor who removes or repairs a part of the body by operating on the patient.

A procedure to remove or repair a part of the body or to find out whether disease is present. An operation.

The hollow tube inside the neck that starts behind the nose and ends at the top of the trachea (windpipe) and esophagus (the tube that goes to the stomach). The throat is about 5 inches long, depending on body size. Also called pharynx.