A – I
Abdomen
The central trunk section of the body below the chest area. The abdomen contains some of the body’s major organs, such as the stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas and intestines.
Adjuvant therapy
Adjuvant treatment is given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure. Adjuvant therapy may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy or biological therapy.
Adjuvant radiation
Radiation that aids in removing or preventing a disease. For example, a person with mesothelioma may be treated primarily with chemotherapy, supplemented by adjuvant radiation.
Alimta
Alimta (generic name: pemetrexed) is a chemotherapy drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Patients also typically receive cisplatin (a platinum agent), another widely used chemotherapy drug, in combination with Alimta.
Alternative medicine
Practices used instead of or in addition to standard treatments. The medical community generally does not recognize them as standard or conventional medical approaches. Alternative medicine may include dietary supplements, mega dose vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, acupuncture, massage therapy, magnet therapy, spiritual healing, and meditation.
Anesthetic
A drug that causes numbness or loss of feeling or awareness (anesthesia). A general anesthetic causes the patient to fall asleep, whereas a local anesthetic affects only a part of the body.
Asbestos
A naturally occurring substance, mined from rock and made up of tiny fibers, used extensively in thousands of building and insulation products. It is considered the primary cause of mesothelioma.
Asbestosis
A non-cancerous lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. The fibers tear the tissue of the wall, causing the lung tissue to scar, becoming stiff and preventing the lung from working as it is supposed to. Asbestosis is progressive (it gets worse over time).
Aspiration
The process of removing fluid or tissue, or both, from a specific area, typically by using a needle or tube.
Benign
Benign tumors (non-cancerous) do not spread to tissues around them or to other parts of the body.
Biopsy
The process of surgically removing tissue from the body. Tissue from a biopsy is examined in a laboratory under a microscope in order to make a diagnosis.
Brachytherapy
Radiation therapy whereby radioactive materials are placed directly inside the chest or the abdomen at the site of the mesothelioma or another form of cancer.
Bronchoscope
A bronchoscope is a flexible, lighted tube that is inserted through the mouth into the lungs to examine air passages. The procedure itself is called a bronchoscopy.
Bronchoscopy (bron-KOS-ko-pee)
A procedure in which a thin, lighted tube is inserted through the nose or mouth. This allows examination of the inside of the trachea and bronchi (passages that deliver air to the lungs), as well as the lung. Bronchoscopy may be used to detect cancer or to perform some treatment procedures.
Cancer
Refers to a disease where the cells divide in an uncontrolled manner.
Catheter
A flexible tube used to deliver fluids into or withdraw fluids from the body.
Chemotherapy (kee-mo-THER-a-pee)
The use of drugs or chemical agents in the treatment or control of disease.
Clinical Trial
A research study that attempts to improve current treatments or finds information on new treatments for particular diseases.
Combination chemotherapy
Treatment using more than one anti-cancer drug.
Complementary medicine
Practices that are meant to enhance or complement standard medical treatment for a particular disease.
CT/CAT (Computed Tomography) scan
A test that uses computers and x-rays to create images of the various parts of the body.
Decortication
Removal of part of, or the entire external surface of, an organ.
Diaphragm
A muscular wall separating the abdomen from the cavity containing the lungs and heart.
Effusion
A collection of fluid in a body cavity, usually between two adjoining tissues. For example, a pleural effusion is the collection of fluid between two layers of the pleura (the sac around the lung).
External radiation
Radiation that is directed onto the skin over a cancerous region within the body.
Extrapleural pneumonectomy
The surgical removal of the pleura, diaphragm, pericardium and the whole lung on the side of the cancerous tumor. It is intended to remove all or most of the cancer and some surrounding tissues as well.
Fluoroscopy
A diagnostic procedure in which x-rays that have passed through the body are projected onto a screen, providing a continuous image of the body’s internal structures.
Gene therapy
Insertion of normal or genetically altered genes into cells, usually to replace defective genes.
General anesthetic
A drug that causes loss of feeling or pain. When a general anesthetic is used during a medical procedure, the patient is typically asleep.
Immunoaugmentive therapy (”IAT”)
A developing treatment for mesothelioma that seeks to strengthen the body’s natural immune system by balancing four blood proteins.
Internal radiation therapy
Placing the radiation treatment source into or near the cancer. This procedure is also called brachytherapy or internal radiation.
Intraoperative photodynamic therapy
A developing treatment for mesothelioma. A drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light is injected into a vein several days before surgery. The drug helps the surgeon better identify and remove cancerous growths. A special light is shone on the area during the surgery, which increases the chance of the surgeon seeing, and therefore removing, more of the cancer.
Intrapericardial chemotherapy
Chemotherapy drugs injected directly into the pericardium, the lining of the heart.
Intraperitoneal chemotherapy
Treatment in which anti-cancer drugs are put directly into the abdominal cavity through a thin tube.
Intrapleural chemotherapy
Treatment in which anti-cancer drugs are put within the pleural cavity through a thin tube.
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