GLOSSARY OF TERMS Active Surveillance Monitoring strategy used for men with cancer that is localised to the prostate. The aim is to cure the cancer and defer any treatment options until necessary Adenocarcinoma A type of cancer that starts in the glands – this is the most common type of prostate cancer Adjuvant treatment When a different treatment modality is added to a primary treatment with the aim to increase effectiveness, it is called adjuvant treatment. For example, hormones given to patients after initial radiotherapy Adrenal Glands Two small glands situated above the kidneys and produce various hormones. They also make a small amount (approximately 5%) of the body’s testosterone Advanced Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and is no longer localised to just the prostate Androgen Deprivation Therapy
Hormones given to men to reduce the levels of male sex hormones (for example, testosterone) in the body. The effect of this is to slow down the growth of prostate cancer cells
Anti-androgen Oral tablets that block the action of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone by attaching to the cell receptors. An example is bicalutamide Asymptomatic No obvious signs or symptoms of a disease Atypical Small Changes in the cells of the prostate that may be cancer or Acinar Proliferation not. At this stage it is unclear. This requires monitoring as it can increase the chance of being diagnosed with cancer at a later stage Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign (non-cancerous) growth of the prostate, which can cause symptoms
Biopsy Taking a sample of tissue from the body, which is looked at under a microscope to see if there is cancer present Bone Scan A scan of the entire skeleton to see if cancer has spread to the bones Brachytherapy Treatment of prostate cancer by inserting radioactive seeds into the prostate. Also called internal radiotherapy
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FIGHTING PROSTATE CANCER - A SURVIVAL GUIDE
