Glossary
Glossary
Acupressure
A system of massage in which figure pressure on acupuncture points is used in place of needles.
Acupuncture
In traditional Chinese medicine, the practice of placing needles at key points along “energy pathways,” or “meridians” on the body in order to “restore the energy balance.” Best known in the West as a system of pain control.
Adenocarcinoma
A carcinoma of glandular origin.
Adjunctive therapies
Those unconventional cancer therapies generally considered more acceptable by mainstream standards, mostly notably the psychosocial interventions.
Amino acids
Organic compounds which are the building blocks of proteins. The body can manufacture nine of these but must obtain eleven others through food intake.
Analgesic
A substance that relieves pain without causing a loss of consciousness.
Antineoplastons Substances originally isolated from human urine by Stanislaw Burzynski, which he believes have antitumor properties.
Ascites
Accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
Autogenous vaccine
A vaccine derived from the patient’s own blood.
Ayurveda
The traditional Indian system of medicine that uses herbs, yoga, and various other techniques to bring the body into a state a harmony with its environment.
BCG
Bacille Calmette-Guérin–the attenuated bovine tubercle bacillus that Virginia Livingston used for cancer patients. Livingston described BCG as a close relative of Progenitor cryptocides.
Biofeedback
The use of instruments to induce awareness of the ability to achieve responses, such as relaxation, previously thought to be beyond conscious control.
Cachexia
Generalized weakening and malnutrition that often accompanies cancer and is often the cause of death in cancer patients.
Carcinoma
A malignant tumor originating in the tissues that line the organs of the body, such as the breast, intestines, uterus, etc.
Chromosomes
Structures in the cell nucleus containing DNA, the genetic material.
Clinical trials
Experiments involving humans.
Cohort study
A study in which a group is observed over a period of time.
Complementary therapies
Those approaches to the diagnosis, treatment, and care of cancer that fall outside conventional (or allopathic) cancer treatments, so called because they complement the intelligent use of conventional approaches. Complementary cancer therapies are also called “unorthodox” and “unconventional.”
Control group
In a clinical study, a group identical to the one being examined, except for the absence of the one factor being evaluated. The results from the two groups are compared to assess the factor under study.
Controlled study
A clinical study which utilizes a control group.
Conventional cancer therapies
Those forms of cancer treatment widely practiced in major American cancer centers today: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
Differentiation
The acquisition of particular structures and characteristics by cells or tissues which allows them to perform specific functions. Loss of cell differentiation is a defining characteristic of cancer.
DNA
Molecules in the cell nucleus that comprise the genes and which carry hereditary information.
Double blind
A method of minimizing bias in a clinical trial, where neither the patient nor those collecting and evaluating the data know what treatment the patient is receiving (e.g., whether the patient is a member of the study group or control group).
Dysplasia
Abnormal changes in cells, sometimes indicative of a precancerous state.
Edema
Accumulation of fluid in the connective tissue; swelling.
Endocrine therapy
The use of hormones, such as estrogen, in the treatment of cancer.
Endometrium
The membrane lining the uterus.
Epithelium
The tissue that lines the surfaces of the body’s organs.
Essiac
A Native American herbal preparation obtained by Rene Caisse, R.N., in the 1920s. It is available in Canada on an experimental basis.
Etiology
The branch of medicine which examines the causes of disease.
Ewing’s sarcoma
A tumor of the bone.
Free radicals
Chemical compounds that are byproducts of metabolism which damage cells and leave them vulnerable to the effects of carcinogens.
Genes
Individual units of hereditary material composed of DNA.
Grading
The classification of tumors according to the degree of differentiation of cancerous cells. Generally, the more differentiated the cells are, the better the prognosis. Grade I malignancies are the most differentiated, grade IV the least.
Hodgkin’s disease
A malignant condition of the lymphoid tissues which results in the enlargement of the lymph nodes, spleen, and liver, and sometimes fever and weight loss.
Hoxsey herbs
An herbal formula developed by John Hoxsey in 1840. Reportedly based upon his observations of the plants his horse consumed prior to the disappearance of a cancerous tumor on its leg.
Hydrazine sulfate
An inexpensive chemical substance found by Joseph Gold to possibly be useful in treating cachexia, and which may also have anticancer properties.
Hyperthermia
The therapeutic application of heat, either locally, regionally, or systemically, based on the belief that tumors have a lower tolerance to heat than do healthy tissues. Ultrasound, radio-, and microwaves are among the techniques used in this process.
Imagery
The use of mental images which come to conscious awareness during a deeply relaxed state to motivate the body’s healing response.
Incidence
The number of cases of a particular disease diagnosed; the rate of occurrence in the general population.
IND
[Investigational New Drug] Permits granted by the Food and Drug Administration for the use of new drugs with patients on an experimental basis.
In vitro
In an artificial environment, i.e., cell cultures, test tubes.
In vivo
In the body.
Iscador
A mistletoe extract used in anthroposophical medicine as an anticancer agent.
Lipids
Organic fatty substances that are insoluble in water but which are soluble in alcohol and some other fat solvents. They serve as fuel and are an important constituent of cell structure, along with proteins and carbohydrates.
Lymphoma
A malignant growth originating in the lymphoid tissues, specifically in the lymphocytes at a step in the differentiation process outside of the bone marrow.
Macrobiotics
Term coined by George Oshawa from the Greek for “large life.” An approach to life derived from traditional Oriental philosophies whose goal is to live in harmony with the environment and whose principles are applied dietetically. The diet is grain-based and nondairy, primarily cooked, and can be vegetarian or nonvegetarian.
Macronutrients
Major components of food: fat, protein, carbohydrate, fiber, sodium, potassium, and calcium.
Maruyama vaccine
Perhaps the most widely used Japanese alternative cancer therapy. Similar to BCG, the attenuated bovine tubercle bacillus that Virginia Livingston used for cancer patients, it is derived from human tuberculosis rather than bovine tuberculosis.
Melanoma
A malignant form of skin cancer originating in the pigmented cells.
Meridians
“Energy pathways” believed by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to run through the body. Acupuncture needles are placed along meridians at “points” where the energy can be adjusted.
Metaplasia
The abnormal replacement of one kind of cells with another.
Metastases
Locations where cancer has spread from its primary site, usually via the lymph system, blood, or by invasive spread.
Micronutrients
Vitamins and trace minerals.
Mitosis
The process which takes place in the dividing cell which results in the formation of two nuclei, each having the same number of chromosomes as the original nucleus.
Mortality rate
The rate at which people die as a result of a particular cause in a given population.
Moxibustion
The application of heat to acupuncture points.
Mutagen
An agent that increases the frequency of mutation.
Myeloma
A primary tumor of the bone marrow.
Neoplasm
“New growth,” or any abnormal growth of tissue that serves no physiological function; cancer.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
A family of lymphomas distinguished from Hodgkin’s disease by the absence of the characteristic Sternberg-Reed cells.
Oncogene
Genetic material normally present in cell (proto-oncogene) which has been triggered to cause uncontrolled cell growth.
One-arm study
A study not employing a control group.
Palliative
Treatment that provides relief from symptoms, as opposed to a cure for the condition.
Pathogen
The specific agent or organism which causes a disease.
Pharmacological
Pertaining to the use of an agent as a drug.
Placebo
A substance or procedure with no intrinsic therapeutic value administered to a control group in a clinical study. Comparison with the results obtained from the study group determine the efficacy of the therapy being administered to the study group.
Pleomorphic
A term used in microbiology to refer to bacteria that change in size and shape during their life cycle.
Progenitor cryptocides
A bacterium, detectable through the dark-field microscope, which is postulated by Virginia Livingston to cause cancer.
Prospective study
A study in which a group is monitored over a period of time and where results will be determined at a future date (as opposed to a retrospective or historical study). See Cohort study.
Qi
In the traditional system of Chinese medicine, the vital energy or life force of the body.
Qi gong
An ancient Chinese martial art combining movement with meditation and breath awareness which has as one of its goals the conscious control of the body’s energetic system.
Randomization
A method of minimizing bias in a controlled study, in which all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to the study group or control group. In this way, all factors which might confound the results of the study can be considered to be equally present in both groups.
Reflexology
A system of therapeutic massage based upon the theory that pressure points affecting all of the body’s organs and systems are located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Remission
The diminution or disappearance of disease; the period during which the disease is under control.
Retinol
The form of vitamin A found in mammals.
Retrospective study
A study where data are collected about events that have already happened.
Sarcoma
A neoplasm arising from the connective tissue, including bone, blood, muscle, fat, and lymph vessels.
Staging
The determination of the extent of cancer growth, a very important factor in the design of a treatment protocol. Systems vary by the type of cancer, but generally follow these steps:
Stage I: localized cancer, probably without lymph node involvement.
Stage II: local spread of cancer, possible lymph node involvement.
Stage III: cancer has spread into adjacent tissues, definite lymph node involvement.
Stage IV: cancer has metastasized.
Statistical significance
The mathematical measure of the probability that the results of a study are attributable to chance rather than to the effect of the therapy or agent being evaluated. If this probability is low enough, given the size of the study and strength of the results, the results are considered to be “statistically significant.”
Survival rate
The percentage of people with a particular cancer who have survived a given length of time.
Therapeutic Touch
A modern version of laying on of hands in which the practitioner seeks to rebalance “energy fields” that are postulated to exist within and around the body.
Yoga
A philosophical school of Hinduism that elaborates a system of physical, psychological, and spiritual approaches to the integration of the individual with the transpersonal. Yoga is best known as a physical discipline, including stretching exercises, breathing and relaxation techniques, and meditation practices.