Oncology

How Cancer is Detected

It is very important that a cancer diagnosis is made quickly and accurately so that a specific and appropriate treatment is planed. Generally speaking, cancer is first detected or suspected based on signs and symptoms of the patient’s exhibits.

The first symptom of cancer is usually when the patient knows something is wrong. This may be a pain, a severe discomfort, weight loss and or a prolonged fever. Tumors that grow on organs will usually affect the functioning of that organ and perhaps surrounding organs too. Your body will exhibit symptoms that you will know that something is wrong. Tumors may also grow and push on the effected organ and no surrounding it. And this will cause pain and discomfort. This may be the first symptom that has a problem and you need to be examined by a physician. Signs are things that physician notices about a patient that indicates something is not right. This may be a lump that can be felt or some visible that normally shouldn’t be there.

The next step is to get a definitive diagnosis. Tests are then performed to obtain a definite diagnosis and these include x-rays, blood test and biopsies. X-rays can detect a mass in the body that can be further examined. Blood test can detect the presence of cancer when levels of a certain substance are abnormally high. This is due to the fact that as tumor’s cells grow and multiply some of the complex substances they produce can increase and leak into the blood stream. Biopsies involve the removal of a fraction of the suspected tissue either with a needle or by a surgery and the tissue is then examined under a microscope.

Over the past few years, new technologies have been developed to detect and aid the diagnosis of cancer that are less invasive and less traumatic to the patient. These include virtual colonoscopy, spiral PET scanning and tumor markers. A virtual colonoscopy is used in the detection of colon cancer. The virtual colonoscopy creates a three D-scan of the body’s enterer and it is the most modern model available. It allows for detection of disease or tumors at very early stages and in exact detail. The patient lies within a special scanner which rotates and scans the body from all angles. Spiral PET scanning; this is Positron, Emission and Tomography. These machines are used to scan the internal organs of the body, especially the brain and the heart. They are used to monitor the blood flow and functioning of organs and to look for any abnormal tissue mass. They also detect metabolic changes in the body because cancer cells behave in different matter from the other cells of the body. These scans can also detect other abnormal tissues in the body and are very useful in diagnosing coronary artery disease and also sings of stroke and clotting.

Tumor markers are special proteins that are produced by the body in response to the cancer growths, or by the cancer tissue itself. There are typical substances that are released into the circulation and then can be measured into the blood. Though, tumor markers are rarely specific enough to be used alone in the diagnosis of a cancer they can be used to indicate a prognosis. Some tumor markers are associated with many types of cancer and others with just one, but none are 100% reliable for a definitive diagnosis. They are also used to monitor treatment and to watch for cancer’s recurrence.

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