Breast Cancer Lingo


When you are newly diagnosed, it is sometimes difficult to understand the different abbreviations that are used in the forums and in chat rooms. The following are some of the breast cancer "lingo" you may come across during forum and chat room visits. This page is a work in progress.

- bc...breast cancer

- neuropathy...a pain/numbness in hands/fingers and/or feet/toes

- ned...no evidence of disease

- chemo...chemotherapy

- ca...cancer

- Stage 1, 2, 3, 4...Stage of your cancer

- bx...biopsy

- dx...diagnosis

- NOLA...New Orleans, Louisiana

- snb...sentinel node biopsy

- mammo...mommogram

- Path ...pathology report

- doc...doctor

- onc...Oncologist

- PS...Plastic Surgeon

- BS...Breast Surgeon

- DH...dear husband

- DD...dear daughter

- mets...metastasis

- metastasis ...cancer spread to distant parts of body

- rad(s)...radiation

- tx...treatment

- mast...mastectomy

- recur...cancer recurrence in the breast

- recon...reconstruction

- tnbc...triple negative breast cancer

- IDC...invasive ductal cancer (cancer spread outside of duct)

- ILC...invasive lobular cancer (cancer spread outside of lobe)

- IBC...inflammatory breast cancer

- DCIS...ductal cancer in situ (cancer did not spread outside of duct)

- DIEP...type of breast reconstruction which utilizes only the skin, fat and vessels. No muscle is taken.

- TRAM...type of breast reconstruction which removes a small section of muscle, uses skin, fat and vessels to reconstruct the breast.

- Implants...type of breast reconstruction which uses a soft, foreign material that is inserted under the chest muscle to form the breast mound.

- LAT flap...type of breast reconstruction which uses the muscle from the back.

- er/pr/her2...receptor status (negative/positive)

- grade 1, 2 or 3...aggressiveness of cancer. Grade 1 is the least aggressive. Grade 3 is the most aggressive.

- AC...adriamycin (aka red devil) & cytoxan (type of chemotherapy)

- Taxotere...type of chemotherapy

- Taxol...type of chemotherapy

- sx...symptom

- CT...cat scan (scans for tumors in the body)

- MRI...Magnet Resonance Imaging (scans for tumors in the body)

- PET (scans for the presence of cancer cells in the body)

- US...ultrasound

- CA15...blood test for breast cancer antigens

Disclaimer: Information presented within the pages of this website is, for the most part, that of my opinion and for informational purposes only and not to be used in place of the advice of your medical provider. You are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of your medical provider and to conduct your own research on any topic of interest, for fact finding.