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Of the blood.

The branch of medicine that studies the blood. A doctor specialising in diseases of the blood is called a haematologist.

An accumulation of blood in the tissues that clots to form a solid swelling.

Blood in the urine.

A bacteria that causes inflammation and ulcers in the stomach.

A type of liver cancer that occurs in children, often confined to one lobe of the liver. In such cases, it may be surgically removed.

The study of body cells and of the structure of body tissues, using a microscope.

see AIDS.

see lymphoma.

A substance which has a specific effect on the way the body works. Made in very small amounts by a gland, various hormones help to regulate and coordinate growth, metabolism and reproduction. They are distributed in the bloodstream.

Indicators on the surface of some cancer cells that suggest the cancer depends on hormones to help it grow, and it may thus respond to hormone therapy: see oestrogen receptor test, progesterone receptor test.

Female hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) given to women after the menopause (change of life) to replace the hormones no longer produced by the ovaries. HRT is often prescribed after ovarian cancer surgery.

Treatment that aims to help control a cancer by changing the hormonal environment in which it is growing. Cancer of the breast or prostate, for example, can respond well to hormone therapy: see endocrinologist. Also called endocrine manipulation.

Care that provides for all the medical and nursing needs of the patient for whom cure is not possible, and for all the psychological, social and spiritual needs of the patient and family, for the duration of the patient's illness, and includes bereavement care.

The person receiving a transplanted tissue or organ.

Injected radioisotopes travel via the bloodstream to a cancer in the body where they show up as radioactive spots (hot spots) during bone scans: see nuclear medicine.

see AIDS.

hydrocephalus

A building up of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.

hypercalcaemia

The presence of an abnormally high level of calcium in the blood, usually due to the breakdown of bone. This can cause nausea, pain, thirst and confusion.

see renal cell carcinoma.

The increased growth or production of normal cells in part of the body. This may occur normally in some conditions, such as when the breasts enlarge during pregnancy. However when it occurs in the lining of the uterus (endometrial hyperplasia), it may develop into cancer of the uterus (uterine cancer).

1. Greatly increased body temperature. 2. The use of heat to kill cancer cells. It is sometimes used to enhance the effect of radiotherapy. Many doctors feel hyperthermia has not been proved to be an effective treatment.

The surgical removal of the uterus and the cervix.