Words to Know
Wellcovorin
A medicine used to lessen the toxic effects of substances that block the action of folic acid, especially the anticancer medicine methotrexate. Wellcovorin, a form of folic acid, is a type of chemoprotective agent that shields healthy cells from the toxic effects of anticancer medicines and a type of chemosensitizing agent that helps tumor cells respond better to chemotherapy.
Western medicine
Also called allopathic medicine, conventional medicine, mainstream medicine, and orthodox medicine. A system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using medicines, radiation therapy or surgery. Western medicine is based on the notion of a risk-benefit analysis: a benefit must outweigh the risks of a treatment before it is considered a reasonable option. Western medicine is distinct from alternative medicine, a term used for treatment systems opposed to pharmaceutical and surgical methods. Alternative treatments can make their way into Western medicine's partnership with complementary or integrative medicine when those treatments are proven safe and effective through scientific means, or when the benefits outweigh the risk of a treatment.
WGA study
Whole genome association study. A study that compares the complete DNA, or genomes, of people with a disease or health condition to the DNA of people without the disease or condition. These studies find the genes involved in the development of a disease, and may lead to better strategies to help prevent, diagnose and treat the illness. Also called genome-wide association study, GWAS.
whole genome association study
WGA study. A study that compares the complete DNA, or genomes, of people with a disease or health condition to the DNA of people without the disease or condition. These studies find the genes involved in the development of a disease and may lead to better strategies to help prevent, diagnose and treat the illness. Also called genome-wide association study, GWAS.
wire localization
A procedure performed right before an operation during which a needle (wire) is inserted, with mammographic or ultrasonographic guidance, into an area in the breast to mark the location of a lesion that cannot be easily found by the surgeon often due to its small size. The procedure guides the surgeon to what tissue should be removed in a surgical biopsy or lumpectomy.