Adjuvant Therapy: Treatment that is added to surgery to increase the effectiveness of therapy. It usually refers to chemotherapy (including hormonal therapy) and radiation therapy.

Alopecia: Temporary or permanent hair loss from the body as a result of chemotherapy or radiation.

Anastrozole: (Arimidex) A medication which is an aromatase inhibitor.

Anemia: A decreased number of red blood cells and/or a reduced volume of hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen).

Anesthesia: The loss of feeling or sensation caused by medications given to allow painless surgery. Generally anesthesia causes a loss of consciousness, "puts you to sleep" whereas local anestesia only "numbs" a specific part of your body.

Angiogenesis: The formation of new blood vessels which tumors need to grow.

Anorexia: Loss of appetite for food which can be a result of chemotherapy.

Antibody: A protein that attaches to "foreign" matter in our body, such as a germ or cancer cell, which enables our immune system to identify it and destroy it.

Antiestrogen: A medicine that blocks the effect of estrogen on tumors. Not all tumors are sensitive to estrogens, but those which are can have growth slowed by blocking their access to estrogen.

Areola: The dark area of skin that surrounds the nipple of the breast. It means "crown".

Aromatase Inhibitor: A medication which lowers the estrogen levels in the body (after menopause) by blocking the conversion of "androgens" (made in the adrenal glands) to estrogen.

Axillary Dissection: A surgical procedure in which the lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) are removed and examined to see if the cancer has "spread" to those nodes.

Benign: Used to describe a tumor which is NOT cancerous.

Bilateral: Affecting both sides (breasts) of the body.

Bone Marrow Transplant: A treatment used after high doses of chemotherapy have also killed the bone marrow. It is usually taken out of the patient before chemotherapy and given back (transplanted) afterwards. It has been found NOT to be effective in breast cancer.

BRCA1 & BRCA2: Recently discovered genes that play a role in developing breast cancer. Alterations (mutations) in these genes affect either your ability to destroy cancer (BRCA1, a tumor suppressor gene) or increase the odds that it will develop (BRCA2, an oncogene).

Breast Cancer: The second most common cancer in women. It starts in the ducts which carried the milk to the nipple (ductal) or the glands which made the milk (lobular). Cancer cells grow out of control, invade the tissues around them, and spread to other organs such as brain, bone, liver, and lung.

Breast Conserving Surgery: The removal of the cancerous lump with a surrounding margin of normal tissue, without removing the entire breast. This procedure is also called a lumpectomy or tylectomy. Axillary node testing still needs to be done, and post-operative radiation therapy is almost always needed.

Breast Implant (Prosthesis): A sterile plastic sac filled with saline, which is used in breast reconstruction to replace the "mass" of the breast tissue removed.

Breast Reconstruction: Surgery that rebuilds the contour of the breast following mastectomy. Either the patient's own tissue or an implant is used. It is done either after or at the same time as a mastectomy.

Breast Self Exam (BSE): A technique for systematically checking one's breasts for lumps or other suspicious changes. It is done monthly, but not just before, during, or after your menstrual period.