Glossary Terms

Palliative care

Palliaitive care is the active holistic care of patients towards the end of life when there are no curative treatments options. It focuses on controlling pain and other symptoms, and meeting a person's social, emotional and spiritual needs. The goal of palliative care is to ensure the best quality of life possible for patients and their families.

Pancreas

A long, irregularly shaped gland that sits behind the stomach. It is part of the digestive system and has 3 main functions: 1. It releases hormones into the blood that help to maintain the balance of salts and sugars in the body. 2. It releases chemicals that help to break down food in the gut. 3. It releases a chemical called sodium bicarbonate, which protects the lining of the gut from the acids made in the stomach.

Pathologist

A doctor who specializes in diagnosis and classification of diseases by laboratory tests such as examination of tissue and cells under a microscope.

Pathology

Study of the changes in tissues and organs of the body which cause disease.

Patient advocacy

Speaking on behalf of a patient in order to protect their rights and help them to get the information and services they need.

Peer Review

This involves professionals who work in the same field (e.g. cancer) coming from another area (e.g. England or Scotland) to look at how care is delivered to ensure that good standards of care are met.

Peri menopausal

The time of a woman's life when menstrual periods become irregular. Refers to the time just before menopause.

Peri operative treatment

Treatment given during the time a patient is in hospital for surgery.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan

Positron emission tomography is a new scan that can see how body tissues are working. It can be used at the time of diagnosis for staging cancer, or at the end of treatment, to show the difference between scar tissue and active cancer tissue. Sometimes CT scans will show that there are still signs of cancer, but this may be scar tissue left over from the tumour after treatment. A PET scan can show whether it is active cancer tissue or not. In lung cancer, PET scans are sometimes used to look for cancer in the lymph nodes in the centre of the chest, as this can decide whether or not a cancer is operable.

Pharynx

The throat.

Physiotherapist

An allied health professional who helps people to stay mobile and free of pain by teaching exercises, giving advice, and providing treatment.

Post operative

Period of time after surgery.

Pre menopausal

Having to do with the time before menopause. Menopause ("change of life") is the time of life when a woman's menstrual periods stop permanently.

Prenatal

Existing or occurring before birth.

Primary Cancer

The first malignant tumour to develop in a specific part of the body

Primary Care / Primary Health Care Teams

The Primary Health Care Team (PHCT) refers to groups of professionals delivering health services in the community at “primary” or first points of contact with the health service. Within your GP practice this includes: GPs; practice nurses; practice managers and administrative staff. It also includes community staff that are attached to the GP practice such as district nurses, health visitors, midwives, counsellors etc. It also includes pharmacists, dentists and opticians.

Proband

The individual in a family through which a genetic condition comes to light.

Procedure

A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the care of patients (i.e. to help diagnose, or to treat or relieve symptoms).

Prognosis

The medical term used by specialists to describe how your condition is likely to affect you in the future. A forecast as to the probable outcome of a disease.

Prognostic

A symptom or sign on which a prognosis may be based.

Prostate

A gland in the male reproductive system just below the bladder. The prostate surrounds part of the urethra, the canal that empties the bladder, and produces a fluid that forms part of semen.

Prostatectomy

An operation to remove part or all of the prostate. Radical (or total) prostatectomy is the removal of the entire prostate and some of the tissue around it.

Protein

Organic compound essential to the make up of all living cells, consisting of amino acids in various combinations.

Protocol

The term given to a cancer treatment plan specific to you.

PSA blood test

A blood test that measures levels of a protein called prostate specific antigen (PSA) that is made by the prostate gland; men with prostate problems usually have high levels of PSA.

Psychological distress

An unpleasant emotional experience of a psychological (cognitive, behavioral, emotional), social, and/or spiritual kind that may interfere with the ability to cope effectively with cancer, its physical symptoms and its treatment. Distress can range from common normal feelings of vulnerability, sadness, and fears to problems that can become disabling, such as depression, anxiety, panic, social isolation and spiritual crisis.