Diagnostic Procedures

What are diagnostic procedures for cancer?
When symptoms suggest cancer, your physician may request/perform any of the following procedures to help positively diagnose it:

• a detailed medical history -- family and personal

• thorough physical examination

• pelvic examination of the uterus, vagina, ovaries, bladder, and rectum

• Pap test may be requested at the time of pelvic examination

Other diagnostic procedures that may be requested include:

• imaging tests, such as:

• x-ray
• CT or CAT (computed tomography)
• radionuclide scan
• ultrasound
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

• endoscopy (to look into a specific area of the body via a lighted tube)

• laboratory tests to examine any/all of the following:

• blood
• urine
• other fluids
• tumor tissue

• biopsy to remove a sample of the suspicious tissue for examination in a laboratory by a pathologist

Once the cancer is diagnosed, an evaluation will be made to determine the extent (stage) of the cancer.