Noncancerous, the cells of the tumor do not spread nor multiply as rapidly as cancerous tumors.
The cancer cells have broken out of the lobule where they began and have the potential to spread to the lymph nodes and other areas of the body.
Carcinoma in situ is when cell changes show up as abnormal under a microscope, but they have not spread beyond where they first formed.
The spread of cancer cells to the adjacent tissue like the lymph nodes and blood vessels, also then spreading within those structures traveling to other parts of the body.
Radiation destroys cells’ genetic material, which is necessary to duplicate the cells, thus halting the cells multiplication. This type of therapy can be administered in different ways. Most commonly by directing a beam of intense energy into the body. It most often uses X-rays. But other types of radiation therapy exist, including proton radiation. Radiation can also be planted within the body as a solid lump into or near the cancer and is referred to as brachytherapy.
Treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Also referred to as biological therapy.
The introduction of a liquid medication directly into the urinary bladder.
Healthy cells mutate/change losing their ability to stop growing. Cancerous cells are cells out of control in their growth that affect the tissues around them and the cancer cells’ own function is altered from their function as normal cells.
Described by numbers, stage 0, stage I, II, III, IV. Determined by the size of the malignant tumor and if it has spread.
Therapy using medication, (of which there are over 100 types), to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is usually administered via injection or intravenously.
Also called targeted therapy, it includes drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with processes in the cells that help cancer grow.
This may include one of the following: biomarker testing, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, hyperthermia, immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant. Targeted therapy uses drugs to target specific genes and proteins that help cancer cells survive and grow.