Tumor
Etymology
Straight from Latin "tumor" (a swelling), from "tumere" (to swell). The word is purely descriptive of shape and size — a swelling — and carries no built-in verdict about danger, despite how ominous it sounds today.
noun · /TOO-mur/
An abnormal mass of tissue formed when cells grow more than they should.
What it names
A neutral handle for the lump itself — before any question of whether it’s dangerous is settled.
Example
The scan found a tumor, but a biopsy was needed to learn whether it was benign.
Related idea
A tumor can be benign — growing in place, not spreading — or malignant, meaning it invades nearby tissue and can seed distant sites through metastasis. "Tumor" alone says nothing about which; only "cancer" specifically means the malignant kind.