metastases

Definition

The plural of metastasis—when cancer cells decide one location isn't enough and spread to set up shop elsewhere in the body, turning a local problem into a systemic nightmare. It's the word that changes cancer prognoses from hopeful to complicated, representing the disease's ability to colonize distant organs through blood or lymph. Basically, it's cancer's terrible expansion franchise model.

Example Usage

The scan showed metastases in the liver and lungs, meaning the breast cancer had stage-migrated beyond surgical cure.

Source: Medical terminology via Dictionary API

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