mets? not in glossary

[Gwen, Daddy's girl]

I'm new here and learning alot.

I see "mets" mentioned but could not find it in the glossary. Thanx

[ztweb]

Mets is a term for metasticizing...or a tumor that moved somewhere else. It is common for a lung cancer tumor to move to the brain or bone first. For example, my dad is going to have whole brain radiation as a precaution because he has no mets yet.

Someone here on the site described, and I asked the doc and he agreed, that tumors are smart...as soon as something tries to get them, like chemo or radiation, they like to run and hide. They think they are getting away when they go to the brain or bone. These are called mets. Of course, it can metasticize to other places too, but these are the most common from what I understand.

Good luck to you. I was also told...of course, it is best if there are no mets, but if there are, it is not the end...it just means that the docs now have a different job to do!! God bless!

[KatieB]

metastasis - The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. Cells in the metastatic (secondary) tumor are the same type as those in the original (primary) tumor.

metastasize - To spread from one part of the body to another. When cancer cells metastasize and form secondary tumors, the cells in the

metastatic tumor are like those in the original (primary) tumor.

metastatic cancer - Cancer that has spread from the place in which it started to other parts of the body.

[Gwen, Daddy's girl]

Thank you. Now I understand what others are talking about