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Diagnosis

The process that leads to the diagnosis of a cancer could be a complex one and It depends on the kind of the cancer as well as the extent of the disease. Certain patients are diagnosed by screening tests. These are individuals who have absolutely no signs or symptoms of cancer. Others present to their doctors with certain complaints that may eventually lead to the diagnosis. No matter how one arrives to this point, there will be a series of tests and procedure needed to establish the diagnosis and prepare for treatment of the cancer. This process is called work up. There are two sets of questions that have to be answered through this process.

1. What Kind of cancer are we dealing with? What is the origin of cancer? Is it lung cancer, Stomach cancer, etc.? To answer this question, we must obtain a Biopsy. Biopsy is taking a sample from the cancer tissue. This step is also referred to Establishing the tissue diagnosis.

2. What is the extent of cancer? How advanced id the cancer? What areas of the body are involved? Has the cancer spread to the bones, liver, etc.? This step is also referred to as Staging the cancer

These are the most important questions that have to be answered before an effective treatment plan can be implemented. The answers to these questions should be obtained by minimal number of tests and by least invasive methods. This a time that a cancer specialist has to be involved to plan for proper testing and studies. Quite often, valuable time is lost during this stage of the game, and that is due to obtaining incorrect tests or performing unnecessary procedures. Patients and relatives have to insist on getting an specialist involved in the care of the patient at very early stage of cancer diagnosis.

Patients have to be fully examined by a qualified physician. Certain blood tests have to obtained. A chest X-ray is always a routine part of work up. Further tests will depend on the findings of the physician and his intuitions. Other X-rays, CT scans, Bone scan, MRI study, etc. are performed to decide on the extent of cancer, as well as deciding on the location where a biopsy is to be obtained.

For appropriate work up of each individual cancer, please refer to proper page in this document.