False Negative
A test result that incorrectly reports a person is disease-free when she/he actually has the disease.
False Positive
A test result that incorrectly reports a person has a disease when she/he does not have the disease.
Family History (Family Medical History)
A record of the current and past health conditions of a person’s biological (blood- related) family members that may help show a pattern of certain diseases within a family.
Fat Necrosis
A benign condition in which fat tissue in the breast or other organs is damaged by injury, surgery, or radiation therapy. The fat tissue in the breast may be replaced by a cyst or by scar tissue, which may feel like a round, firm lump. The skin around the lump may look red, bruised or dimpled.
Fibroadenoma
A benign (not cancer) tumor that usually forms in the breast from both fibrous and glandular tissue. Fibroadenomas are the most common benign breast tumors.
Fibrocystic Condition (Fibrocystic Changes)
A general term used to describe a benign (not cancer) breast condition that may cause painful cysts or lumpy breasts.
Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA, Fine Needle Biopsy)
A biopsy procedure that uses a thin, hollow needle to remove a sample of cells from the abnormal area of the breast.
First-Degree Relative (Immediate Family Member)
A person’s mother, father, sister, brother or child.
First-Line Therapy The first treatment given for a disease. It is often part of a standard set of treatments, such as surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation. When used by itself, first-line therapy is the one accepted as the best treatment. If it doesn’t cure the disease or it causes severe side effects, other treatment may be added or used instead. Also called induction therapy, primary therapy, and primary treatment.
Flow Cytometry
A laboratory method that measures the number of cells, the percentage of live cells, and certain characteristics of cells, such as size and shape, in a sample of blood, bone marrow, or other tissue. The presence of tumor markers, such as antigens, on the surface of the cells are also measured. The cells are stained with a light-sensitive dye, placed in a fluid, and then passed one at a time through a beam of light. The measurements are based on how the stained cells react to the beam of light. Flow cytometry is used in basic research and to help diagnose and manage certain diseases, including cancer.
Frozen Section
Process where a portion of tissue from a surgical biopsy is frozen so a thin slice can be studied to check for cancer. Frozen section results are only preliminary and always need to be confirmed by other methods.