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GLOSSARY

Benign: (Bee-nine). Tumors that are not cancerous and do not spread to other parts of the body.

Biopsy: (Bi-op-see). A type of surgery when cells are removed from the body to test for cancer.

Bone Marrow: The jelly-like material inside the bones that makes blood cells.

Cancer: A group of illnesses that affects different parts of the body when cells grow abnormally or do not stop growing.

Cells: The smallest living parts of the body.

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Central Line: A way for children with cancer to get medicine without being stuck by a needle every time. Doctors place a tube in the body and put the medicine in the tube.

Chemotherapy: (Cheem-oh-ther-apy). A type of treatment for cancer that uses strong medicines to kill cancer cells.

Contagious: (Con-tage-us). A type of illness that can be passed from one person to another. Cancer is not contagious.

CT or CAT Scan: Short for "computed tomography," which is a type of imaging test that doctors use to see the inside of the body.

Fatigue: (Fah-teeg). Being very tired. This is a common side effect of cancer treatments.

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Hospital: A place where children with cancer may go for treatment.

Imaging: Tests that take pictures of things inside the body, like bones, the brain, the heart, and other organs.

Intravenous (or IV): (In-tra-veen-us). Doctors can put medicine into the body by using a needle to get the medicine into blood vessels within a vein.

Leukemia: (Loo-kee-mee-ah). A type of cancer where the bone marrow cannot produce enough healthy white blood cells to fight germs and infections. This is the most common type of cancer among children.

Lymphoma: (Lim-foh-mah). Cancer cells that grow in the body’s lymphatic system. The lymphatic system keeps the body healthy by fighting infections and diseases.

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MRI: Short for "magnetic resonance imaging," which is a type of imaging test that doctors use to take pictures inside the body.

Malignant: (Mah-lig-nant). Tumors that are cancerous and can kill healthy tissue and spread to other parts of the body.

Oncologist: (On-call-oh-jist). A doctor who treats cancer.

Radiation: (Ray-dee-ay-shun). A type of treatment for cancer that uses powerful energy rays to kill cancer cells.

Remission: (Ree-mih-shun). When doctors cannot find any more cancer cells in the body.

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Sarcoma: (Sar-coh-mah). Tumors that come from cells in the bones or soft tissue in the body.

Side Effects: When cancer treatments affect other parts of the body besides the cancer. Examples of side effects of cancer treatments are feeling very tired or losing hair.

Soft Tissue: Tendons, fat, blood vessels, nerves, and the tissue that surrounds joints in the body.

Surgery: A type of treatment for cancer where doctors remove cancer cells from the body.

Treatment or Treatments: Different ways to make a person with cancer healthy again.

Tumor: (Too-mar). A group of cells that grow together in a clump in the body. A tumor can be malignant (cancer) or benign (not cancer). A doctor will do tests to find out which type it is.

Veins: Tiny tubes that carry blood back to the heart from all parts of a person’s body.

X-rays: A type of imaging test doctors use to take pictures inside the body. They are also used to kill cancer cells during radiation.

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