Five tests you’ll need before a cancer diagnosis

Dealing with cancer has many stages to it. It’s emotionally and physically draining from the point of diagnosis, to the treatment sessions and finally, recovery.

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The first step to a diagnosis comes in the form of signs and symptoms. Doctors are still urging people to be self-aware and to be on the lookout for cancer symptoms.

If the cancer spreads, your body starts to react a certain way. Someone can start feeling extremely tired along with other symptoms that suggest something could be wrong.

Different cancers affect the body differently. There are certain cancers that are predominant in men while others are predominant in women. Also, there are some forms of cancer that affect children more.

In many instances, most of us are guilty of Googling strange symptoms we may be experiencing. To our disappointment, the results always end up showing some life threatening diseases while in real sense, you’ve just been bloated of late due to excessive beans intake or it’s almost that time of the month.

Before a proper cancer diagnosis is made, it needs more than just a Google result to make a conclusion. At the same time, other conditions can have similar symptoms to cancer.

Prior to a diagnosis or treatment, these following test and examinations are done in order to come up a definite result.

i. Self-examination

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As part of self-awareness, the general public has always been encouraged to do self-tests for cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancers in men. Information on how to do a self-physical examination is all over the internet meaning it is accessible to everyone. The advantage of doing a self-examination means that cancerous tumours can be detected and dealt with early. The problem with this is that it can cause unnecessary panic when the lumps are not cancerous. It can also cause false positives when this method is not backed up with other tests.

ii. Lab test examinations

This is a process that involves the use of stool, urine and blood in order to identify any irregularities. A doctor will collect these samples in order to see some traces of blood, tumour markers or any other irregularities that can be identifiers.

iii. Imaging tests

These are tests that use a machine to show images inside the body. These tests can show images of tumours and other irregularities that could be cancerous. These radiology tests show signs of cancer as well as signs of improvements as treatments progress. These imaging scans include CT scans, MRI scans and also mammograms to give a diagnosis.

iv. Endoscopies

These are tests that involve the insertion of a tube into certain areas of the body to show tumours and other signs of cancer. There are many types of endoscopies that examine different parts of the body such as the throat, urethra, pelvis, bladder, chest or any other areas that could potentially be infected. These tests go by different names such as colonoscopy, thorascopy, bronchoscopy and cystoscopy. All these endoscopies are used to detect irregularities in the body.

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v. Biopsies

A biopsy is a test whereby a doctor extracts some tissues and cells in order to detect cancerous cells. Through this process, a pathologist is able to run a number of tests and identify if the cancerous cells are there. These tests also allow your doctor to monitor your red blood cells, white blood cells and even platelets through a microscope. When cancers affect these cells, a biopsy will be able to show these changes. When a biopsy is taking place, a patient is usually put under anaesthesia and a small surgical operation is carried out. Other ways include taking samples with a needle from the suspected body area.

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