Oncology
Learning Objectives
- Describe oncology and explore the physiology and activity of cancerous and non-cancerous growths
- Analyze, translate, and define medical terms and common abbreviations of oncology
- Practice the spelling and pronunciation of oncology terminology
- Identify the medical specialties associated with the oncology and explore common diseases, disorders, diagnostic tests, pharmacology, and procedures
Key Word Components
Identify meanings of key word components of oncology:
Prefixes
- ana- (up, apart)
- apo- (away from)
- dys- (abnormal; difficult)
- ecto- (outer)
- endo- (within)
- hyper- (excessive, increase)
- meta- (beyond, change)
- mutat/o- (to change)
- neo- (new)
Combining Forms
- Capsul/o- (to box)
- carcin/o- (cancer)
- miss/o- (to send back)
- mut/a- (change)
- path/o- (disease)
- nod/o- (node)
- onc/o- (tumour)
- sarc/o- (flesh)
Suffixes
- -carcinom (cancerous tumour of epithelial origin (internal or external lining of the body, i.e., skin, breast, colon))
- -genesis (condition of production, origin)
- -oma (tumour)
- -plasia (condition of formation)
- -plasm (formation)
- -sarcoma (connective tissue cancer, such as bones, tendons, cartilage, muscle, and fat)
- -stasis (standing still)
Pronouncing and Defining Commonly Abbreviated Oncology Terms
Practice pronouncing and defining these commonly abbreviated oncology terms:
- BCC- (basal cell carcinoma)
- BMT- (bone marrow transplant)
- BSE- (breast self-examination)
- Bx- (biopsy)
- CA- (cancer)
- CIS- (carcinoma in situ)
- FOBT- (fecal occult blood test)
- G – (grade)
- Mets- (metastases)
- SCC- (squamous cell carcinoma)
- TNM- (tumour-nodes-metastases)
- TSE- (testicular self-examination)
Sorting Terms
Sort the terms from the word lists above into the following categories:
- Disease and Disorder (terms describing any deviation from normal structure and function)
- Diagnostic (terms related to process of identifying a disease, condition, or injury from its signs and symptoms)
- Therapeutic (terms related to treatment or curing of diseases)
- Anatomic (terms related to body structure)
Test Your Knowledge
Test your knowledge by answering the questions below:
Oncology Reinforcement Activity (Text version)
- A tumour ______[Blank 1].
- is an injury of the nervous system.
- is a function of the endocrine system.
- is a medical specialty that primarily treats infections.
- is an abnormal tissue mass that forms through uncontrolled cell growth and divides more than it should.
- Some potential risk factors and causes of cancers include ________[Blank 2].
- a healthy lifestyle.
- bacteria and viruses, diet, hormones, smoking, radiation, alcohol, environment, chemicals, and genetics.
- a healthy and balanced diet.
- regular exercise.
- Cancerous growths or tumours can be diagnosed by __________[Blank 3].
- aggressive chemical treatments.
- a biopsy to examine the lesion, growth or tumour under a microscope to determine the disease.
- performing a series of radiation treat