Abbreviations and definitions for common terms.

We all use abbreviations here and new-comers sometimes have a hard time understanding them.
SCC - Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Dx - Diagnosis
Rx - Prescription
Tx - Therapy? Treatment?
BOT - Base of tongue
PEG - Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy aka feeding tube

NED - No Evidence of Disease

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/nutrition/

HPV - Human papillomavirus
rad - radiation
ENT - Ear, nose, throat Doctor aka Otolaryngologist
Glossectomy - Removal of tongue
Metastasis - Spreading of the cancer
XRT - Conventional external beam radiation therapy aka EBT
IMRT - Intensity modulated radiation therapy

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/treatment/radiation.php

PET - Positron emission tomography scan
CT/CAT - Co-axial tomography scan
EBT - External beam radiation therapy aka XRT
OCF - Oral Cancer Foundation
NCI - National Cancer Institute, a sub division of the National Institutes of Health
CCC - Comprehensive cancer center or clinic; A tumor board at a cancer center will include doctors trained in different disciplines. Having your case presented and evaluated by this type of multidisciplinary team will give you the best options for treatment, considering all possibilities from their different areas of expertise.

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/resources/#centers

HBO - Hyper-baric oxygen Patient given oxygen under pressure prior to dental surgery.
Stage - Development of the cancer

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/discovery-diagnosis/stages-of-cancer.php

TNM - System for describing the cancer

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/discovery-diagnosis/stages-of-cancer.php

NCCN - National Comprehensive Cancer Network (an alliance of 20 leading comprehensive cancer centers).
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/treatment/

Margins - Refers to the margins of biopsied tissue; clean margins indicate that all the visible cancerous cells were removed.
Biopsy - Removal of sample or whole of suspect tissue

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/discovery-diagnosis/detailed-brush-cytology.php

Xerostomia - Dry mouth resulting from reduced or absent saliva flow
RO - Radiological oncologist
MO - Medical oncologist
DO - Dental oncologist

TORS - TransOral Robotic Surgery
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/pennorl/research/tors

Amy...SSMH? I like that one..... it describes a normal day for me as I try to decipher people's behaviors, doctors comments, and the weird guy that sits on the bus bench each day near my house who writes in the air with his fingers while waiting for buses he never gets on. (Could I be seeing a future me in him?)