Confirming the Diagnosis and Staging

A screening test is performed before a doctor has any real suspicion that a person has cancer. A diagnostic test is performed when a doctor suspects cancer. Some tests help ensure that the diagnosis is correct. Then, other tests determine whether the cancer has spread and to which areas, a procedure called staging. The tests ordered vary with the type of cancer but generally include blood tests, imaging studies (such as x-rays, computed tomography [CT], or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), and a biopsy. With a biopsy, a small piece of tissue is removed from a suspicious area for examination under a microscope. Sometimes an excisional biopsy is carried out, in which all of the suspicious tissue is removed and examined. Biopsy of nearby lymph nodes is often done to see if the cancer has spread.

See the sidebar Questions to Ask When Diagnosed With Cancer.