UNDERSTANDING CANCER TESTING

As I have stated in previous posts, I am not a medical professional. I do, however, get the information I post from medical literature. When one has been diagnosed with cancer, they will go through further testing for their medical team to have a better understanding of the cancer. The following is a brief explanation of the most common testing and why it is necessary for the medical team.

• Imaging tests including CT and PET scans and tests to look at tissue under a microscope such as biopsies. This type of testing gives better information about the cancer and what stage it is in.

Why is the stage of cancer important to the patient and their medical team?  Staging is just a way to describe the following:

• The size of the tumor
• Whether the cancer has spread and if so, how far it has spread
• How quickly the cancer is growing
• Whether the cancer cells have certain changes, called mutations, that make them easier for medicine to target. Such changes can be found through tumor testing, also called biomarker testing.

This is a brief explanation. When one is diagnosed with cancer, it is important to have a good relationship with the medical team and feel comfortable to ask them questions.

file photo for reference