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Glossary

Cancer registry. A state agency that collects information about cancer cases.

Diagnose. Doctors look at many things to find out if you have breast cancer. For example, they look at different physical signs, ask questions about your symptoms and family history, and look at test results.

Lymph node. A small rounded or bean-shaped mass of lymphatic tissue that helps the body's immune system. Lymph nodes, or lymph glands, are found in several places in the body, like the neck, the armpit (axilla), and the groin. Lymph nodes are very important for your body's immune system because they make special cells that trap bad cells, like bacteria or cancer cells, that are traveling throughout the body.

Metastases. When cancer spreads to another location in the body. For example, if breast cancer cells spread to the bone, this is called a "breast cancer metastasis."

Non-melanoma skin cancer. Skin cancer begins in the outer layer of the skin. Melanoma is a cancer that begins in skin cells that produce melanin, which gives your skin color. Skin cancers that begin in the other cell are called non-melanoma skin cancer. This cancer rarely spread to other parts of the body.