The formation of scar tissue as a result of radiation therapy for the treatment of breast cancer.

A health professional who specializes in caring for people who are receiving radiation therapy for the treatment of breast cancer.

A person who makes sure that the radiation machine delivers the right amount of radiation to the correct site in the body. The physicist works with the radiation oncologist to choose the treatment schedule and dose that has the best chance of killing the most breast cancer cells.

A healthcare professional who gives radiation treatment.

Energy released in the form of particle or electromagnetic waves. Common sources of radiation include radon gas, cosmic rays from outer space, medical X-rays, and energy given off by a radioisotope (unstable form of a chemical element that releases radiation as it breaks down and becomes more stable).

Also called Halsted radical mastectomy. Surgery for breast cancer in which the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed. For many years, this was the breast cancer operation used most often, but it is used rarely now. Doctors consider radical mastectomy only when the tumor has spread to the chest muscles.

A small, radioactive pellet that is placed in or near a breast tumor. Cancer cells are killed by the energy given off as the radioactive material breaks down and becomes more stable.

Also called radionuclide. An unstable form of a chemical element that releases radiation as it breaks down and becomes more stable. Radioisotopes can be used in imaging tests or as a treatment for breast cancer.

A doctor who specializes in creating and interpreting pictures of areas inside the body. The pictures are produced with X-rays, sound waves, or other types of energy.

Also called scintigraphy. A procedure that produces pictures (scans) of structures inside the body, including areas where there are breast cancer cells. Radionuclide scanning is used to diagnose, stage and monitor disease. A small amount of a radioactive chemical (radionuclide) is injected into a vein or swallowed. Different radionuclides travel through the blood to different organs. A machine with a special camera moves over the person lying on a table and detects the type of radiation given off by the radionuclides. A computer forms an image of the areas where the radionuclide builds up. These areas may contain cancer cells.

Also called radioactive drug. A medicine that contains a radioactive substance and is used in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. It can also be used for pain management of bone cancer metastases (the spreading of breast cancer to the bones).

A medicine that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy.

Also called irradiation and radiation therapy. The use of high-energy radiation from X-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, protons, and other sources to kill breast cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy). Systemic radiotherapy uses a radioactive substance, such as a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody, that travels in the blood to tissues throughout the body.

The active ingredient in a medicine used to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are at high risk of the disease or who have osteoporosis. It is also used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. It is also being studied in the prevention of breast cancer in certain premenopausal women and in the prevention and treatment of other conditions. Raloxifene blocks the effects of the hormone estrogen in the breast and increases the amount of calcium in bone. It is a type of selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM).

A study in which the participants are assigned by chance to separate groups that compare different treatments; neither the researchers nor the participants can choose which group. Using chance to assign to groups means that the groups will be similar, and that the treatments they receive can be compared objectively. At the time of the trial, it is not known which treatment is best. It is the participant's choice to be in a randomized trial.

Also called Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors. A standard way to measure how well a person with cancer responds to treatment. It is based on whether tumors shrink, stay the same, or get bigger. To use RECIST, there must be at least one tumor that can be measured on X-rays, CT scans or MRI scans. The types of response a person can have are a complete response (CR), a partial response (PR), progressive disease (PD), and stable disease (SD).

Surgery that is done to reshape or rebuild (reconstruct) a part of the body changed by previous surgery. There are several types of reconstructive surgeries available after breast cancer treatment surgeries.

Also called recurrent cancer. Breast cancer that has returned after a period of time. The cancer may come back to the same place as the original (primary) breast tumor or to another place in the body.

In medicine, the act of a doctor sending a person he or she is caring for to another doctor for additional healthcare services. For instance, an oncologist may refer to other specialists during breast cancer treatment. Specialists who work in breast cancer treatment include medical oncologists, radiologists, breast surgeons, surgical oncologists, and radiation oncologists.

Also called resistant cancer. Breast cancer that does not respond to treatment. The cancer may be resistant at the beginning of treatment or it may become resistant during treatment.

A treatment plan that specifies the dosage, the schedule and the duration of treatment.

Refers to cancer that has grown beyond the primary breast tumor to nearby lymph nodes, such as the axillary lymph nodes under the arms, or to nearby organs and tissues.
 

In oncology, a lymph node that drains lymph from the region around a breast tumor.

In oncology, describes the body area right around a breast tumor.

A decrease in the size of a breast tumor or in the extent of cancer in the body.

In medicine, a process to restore mental and/or physical abilities lost to injury or disease, in order to function in a healthy or near-healthy way.

A specific measurement of survival. For breast cancer, the rate is calculated by adjusting the survival rate to remove all causes of death except breast cancer. The rate is determined at specific time intervals, such as 2 years and 5 years after diagnosis.

Initial treatment with anticancer medicines to decrease the signs or symptoms of cancer or make them disappear.

A type of internal radiation treatment in which the radioactive source is removed between treatments. Also called high-dose-rate remote brachytherapy and high-dose-rate remote radiation therapy.

A scientific study of nature that sometimes includes processes involved in health and disease. For example, clinical trials are research studies that involve people. These studies may be related to new ways to screen, prevent, diagnose and treat disease. They may also study certain outcomes and certain groups of people by looking at data collected in the past or future.

Removed by surgery.

Breast cancer cells that remain after attempts to remove the cancer have been made.

A process in which a substance, such as tissue, is lost by being destroyed and then absorbed by the body.

The percent of people whose breast cancer shrinks or disappears after treatment.

Also called case-control study. A study that compares two groups of people: those with the disease or condition under study (cases) and a very similar group of people who do not have the disease or condition (controls). Researchers study the medical and lifestyle histories of the people in each group to learn what factors may be associated with the disease or condition. For example, one group may have been exposed to a particular substance that the other was not.