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H
- Haemangioblastoma
- A type of brain tumour.
- Haematologist
- A doctor who specialises in treating diseases of the blood.
- Hepat/hepato
- a prefix, meaning the word relates to the liver.
- Hepatectomy
- the removal, or partial removal, of the liver.
- Hepatocellular carcinoma
- The most common type of primary liver cancer. It starts in the main cells of the liver. Another name for it is hepatoma.
- Hepatoma
- The most common type of primary liver cancer. It starts in the main cells of the liver. Another name for it is hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Hickman line
- A common type of central line.
If you are going to have chemotherapy, you may be given your drugs through a line. A long, thin plastic tube is put into a vein in the chest, and is left in place throughout the treatment. Every time you then have chemotherapy your nurse gives you the drugs through the line. See chemotherapy section.
- Histology
- The study of body tissue, by looking at samples through a microscope.
- Histopathology
- The study of diseased tissue and cell samples under a microscope.
- Hodgkin's disease
- A type of lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system. See Hodgkin's disease section.
- Holistic care
- A word used to describe care of the whole person. A holistic approach to cancer care would aim to meet the physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs of the patient.
- Homeopathy
- A type of medicine based on a principle of 'like cures like'. A homeopath believes that, if a substance causes particular symptoms in a healthy person, the same substance (in small doses) can be used to treat those symptoms in an ill person.
- Hormone therapy
- Some cancers need hormones to help them grow and multiply. Hormones are substances that occur naturally in the body.
Hormone therapy is a treatment that changes the level of hormones in the body, or blocks hormones so that they can't help cancer cells to grow. Another name for this treatment is endocrine therapy.
See hormone therapy section.
- Hospice
- A service to provide medical, nursing and
emotional support for those with illnesses that cannot be cured, as
well as advice and support for their families and carers.
A hospice may well be a physical building - but there are also hospice at home services that provide care and support in the patients' own homes.
- Human papilloma virus (HPV)
- A common virus that is normally passed on through sex. In some people, HPV may eventually cause changes to body cells (in the cervix, for example). These changes, if left untreated, may eventually turn into cancer.
- Hyperplasia
- Thickening of the skin. It happens… as a protective response to exposure to sunlight…
- Hysterectomy
- An operation to remove the uterus (womb).
- Hysteroscope
- A thin, flexible instrument used to examine the inside of the uterus (womb).
- Hysteroscopy
- An examination of the inside of the uterus (womb).
