Oncology Flashcards
Extravasation
The escape of blood or lymph from their proper vessels into surrounding tissues.
Vesicants
An agent that causes blistering.
Nadir
The point at which blood cell counts are at their lowest after a chemotherapy treatment.
thrombocytopenia
A blood disease characterized by an abnormally low number of platelets in the bloodstream
leukopenia
when the levels of WBCs in your blood are lower than average.
desquamation
The shedding of the outer layers of the skin
intrathecal
- within a sheath. 2. through the theca of the spinal cord into the subarachnoid space.
Uncontrolled cell growth
Cancer
2nd leading cause of death in the U.S.
Cancer
Causes of cancer
some genetic tendencies, some related to environmental expose, some related to infectious agents
Infectious agents that can cause cancer
human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori),
Cancer can be prevented through
behavioral changes, vaccination, or treatment of the infection.
A process that begins when an abnormal cell is created by the genetic mutation of a cell’s DNA
Cancer pathophysiology
Increased cell growth
proliferation
Cancer cells that don’t always multiply rapidly, but do increase & spread without cell “boundaries”
proliferation
Cells should grow into the mature type- if not they remain like immature or fetal cells…
differentiation
UN-LIKE the mature cell
undifferentiated
Pre-malignant or malignant
differentiation
Number 1 Carcinogen
Tobacco smoke
Environmental Carcinogens:
tobacco, exposure to occupational chemicals, asbestos, benzene
30% of cancer can be traced to
Smoking and 2nd hand smoke
Environmental Carcinogen drugs
pesticides
Environmental Carcinogens viruses
Epstein-Barr, HPV, h. pylori
Environmental Carcinogen: radiation
sun, treatment, radon, nuclear exposure