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Detection
tests are performed on people who have symptoms that suggest cancer
or on people who have had cancer before. The tests involved will depend
on which cancer is suspected. For more details on the tests that are
required to diagnose each cancer, and what treatments are currently
being used, please visit the Types of cancer section of this website.
The most commonly used tests include:
X-Rays
An X-ray can be taken of the suspected area of the body to check for
the presence of a tumour. For specialised X-rays, the patient must
swallow or be injected with special dyes before taking an X-ray. The
dyes make soft tissues such as blood vessels and digestive organs
show up clearly in the X-ray pictures. In Barium X-Rays, the patient
swallows a white substance called barium that shows up well on X-rays
used to check for cancer of the digestive system.
CT Scan (Computer Tomography Scan) or CAT
scan
A CT scan is an X-ray scan that does not use dyes. It is a body scanner
that makes use of X ray to give very detailed cross section views
on the inside to the body without surgery. It can show the exact position
of tumours and give clues to the type of tumour. The doctor can also
see what stage the cancer has reached and determine if the cancer
is localised or has spread to other parts of the body. A patient lies
on a table that slowly slides into a large round machine that produces
X-rays. The X-ray circles around the patient's body, taking a series
of `slice' views that are then transmitted to a computer. |