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Palliative treatment: Treatment aimed at the relief of pain and symptoms of disease but is not intended to cure the disease.
Pap (Papanicolaou) smear: A test to detect cancer of the cervix.
Paracentesis: Removing fluid from the abdomen using local anesthesia, a needle, and syringe.
Pathological fracture: A break in a bone usually caused by cancer or some disease condition.
Pathology: The study of disease by the examination of tissues and body fluids under the microscope. A doctor who specializes in pathology is called a pathologist.
Petechiae: Tiny areas of bleeding under the skin, usually due to a low platelet count. (Not to be confused with Pet o' Chia, a little ceramic animal that grow moss on your Aunt Myrtle's window sill.)
Phlebitis: A painful inflammation of the vein.
Photosensitivity: Why Amish people don't want their picture taken. (Or extreme sensitivity to the sun, leaving the patient prone to sunburns. Some cancer drugs and radiation have this side effect.)
Placebo: An inert substance often used in clinical trials for comparison.
Platelet (Plt): Cells in the blood that are responsible for clotting.
Polyp: A growth of tissue protruding into a body cavity, such as a nasal or rectal polyp. They may be benign or malignant.
Port - Implanted: A catheter connected to a quarter-sized disc surgically placed just below the skin in the chest or abdomen. The tube is inserted into a large vein or artery directly into the bloodstream. Fluids, drugs, or blood products can be infused or blood drawn through a needle that is struck into the disc. Examples: Port-o-cath, Infusaport, Lifeport.
Port - Peritoneal: A catheter connected to a quarter size disc surgically placed in the abdomen to deliver chemotherapy, to the peritoneal (abdominal cavity).
Primary tumor: The original cancer site. For example, breast cancer that has spread to the bone is still called breast cancer.
Progesterone: One of the female hormones produced by the ovaries.
Progesterone-receptor assay: A test that determines if breast cancer is stimulated by female hormones.
Prognosis: The outcome of a disease; the life expectancy.
P.S.A. (Prostate Specific Antigen): A marker used to determine prostate disease - may be benign or malignant.
Prosthesis: Artificial replacement of a missing body part.
Protocol: The cancer treatment plan.
Radiation therapy: X-ray treatment that damages or kills cancer cells.
Radiologist: A doctor who specializes in the use of x-rays to diagnose and treat disease.
Recurrence: The reappearance of cancer after a period of remission.
Red blood cells (Erythrocyte): Cells in the blood that bring oxygen to tissues and take carbon dioxide from them.
Red blood count (RBC): The number of red blood cells seen in a blood sample.
Regression: The shrinkage of cancer growth.
Remission: Complete or partial disappearance of sign and symptoms of disease.
Risk factor: Anything that increases a persons chance of developing cancer, i.e. smoking, lung cancer.
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