Words to know: Breast cancer
- Aromatase inhibitor
- A hormone therapy pill that lowers estrogen in women past menopause.
- Antibody-drug conjugate
- A targeted antibody attached to a chemotherapy medicine that delivers it to cancer cells.
- Biopsy
- Removing a small piece of tissue to check it for cancer.
- BRCA1 and BRCA2
- Genes that, when changed, raise the risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers.
- DCIS
- Ductal carcinoma in situ. Abnormal cells that stay inside the milk ducts.
- Estrogen
- A female hormone that can help some breast cancers grow.
- HER2
- A protein on some cancer cells that helps them grow.
- Hormone receptor
- A protein on cells that attaches to estrogen or progesterone.
- Immunotherapy
- Treatment that helps your immune system find and attack cancer.
- Invasive cancer
- Cancer that has grown out of where it started into nearby tissue.
- Lumpectomy
- Surgery that removes the tumor and some normal tissue, but keeps most of the breast.
- Lymph nodes
- Small bean-shaped organs that fight infection. Cancer can spread to them.
- Lymphedema
- Swelling, often in the arm, after lymph nodes are removed or treated.
- Mastectomy
- Surgery to remove the whole breast.
- Metastatic
- Cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
- Neoadjuvant therapy
- Treatment given before surgery, often to shrink the tumor.
- Adjuvant therapy
- Treatment given after surgery to lower the chance of cancer coming back.
- Pathologic complete response
- No invasive cancer is found at surgery after treatment given before surgery.
- Palliative care
- Care that eases symptoms and improves quality of life at any stage.
- Recurrence
- Cancer that comes back after treatment.
- Sentinel lymph node
- The first lymph node or nodes where cancer is likely to spread.
- Targeted therapy
- Medicine that attacks a specific protein or gene change in cancer cells.
- Triple-negative
- Breast cancer without estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, or extra HER2.
Last updated: 2026-10-27. Medically reviewed by Veli Bakalov, MD, medical oncologist (October 2026). General education from Step by Step, the patient portal of HemeOncBuddy.