Resources

Glossary of Terms

D - F

D

Dacarbazine: A chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Also called DTIC.

Debulking: Reducing the size of a tumour often through surgery but possibly through radiation therapy.

Denial: A process of automatically blocking awareness of painful realities, thoughts or feelings in order to protect oneself from emotional distress.

Diaphragm: Tthe thin muscle below the lungs and heart that separates the chest from the abdomen.

Disease progression: A term used to describe a worsening of the disease despite treatment. The term is often used interchangeably with treatment failure.

Diuretics: Drugs that help the body get rid of excess water and salt.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): The part of the cell that contains and controls all genetic information.

Dose intensity: The total amount of a chemotherapy drug delivered to a patient in a certain period of time. The ultimate goal is to reach the highest dose possible where the side effects remain at an acceptable level.

Doxorubicin: The generic name for Adriamycin, a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): The building block for all genetic material. It is a molecule inside cells that carries genetic information and passes it on from one generation to the next.

Drug resistance: The failure of (cancer) cells to respond to drugs (chemotherapy).

DTIC: See Dacarbazine.

Durable power of attorney: The legal designation of a person responsible for managing another person’s affairs if he/she becomes unable to do so. It can be for all decisions or only for healthcare decisions (healthcare proxy).

Durable remission: The term used to describe cancer that has been in remission for many years. The longer the remission, the greater the chance for cure.

Dysgeusia: An altered sense of taste.

Dysphagia: Difficulty in swallowing.

E

Echocardiogram: An imaging technique where an ultrasound machine is used to visualize the heart. Some chemotherapy medications can affect the heart and as such, cancer patients may require an echocardiogram.

Edema: Swelling caused by excessive amounts of body fluid.

Empathy: Understanding another person’s feelings by remembering or imagining being in a similar situation.

Empowerment: Having the right to make one’s own choices and of having the ability to act on them.

Epidemiology: The study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV): A retrovirus that has been associated with the development of Burkitt’s lymphoma and is present in about 50% of the time in Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients. The link between the virus and cancer is still unknown.

Erythema: Redness of the skin.

Erythrocyte: The red blood cell that carries oxygen to the cells and carries carbon dioxide away from them.

Etiology: The cause(s) of disease. The cause of NHL is not known.

Excision: Removal by surgery.

Extranodal disease: A term describing NHL that has spread outside of the lymphatic system.

F

Fatigue: Excessive tiredness and lack of energy, with a decreased capacity for daily activities.

Fertility: The ability to have children. Several treatments for lymphoma affect fertility.

Flow cytometry: A procedure that examines the cancer cells and their DNA. It is helpful in the diagnosis of cancers where a mediastinal mass (a mass/tumour behind the breastbone in the central area of the upper chest) is present.

Follicle: A cluster of cells

Fraction: A single dose of radiation.

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