HOW CANCER IS DETECTED

A check-up for cancer requires a thorough examination. This must include the skin, the rectum, the genital organs, and the internal organs of the chest and abdomen. Examination of the breasts and the vagina is essential for women.

Everyone should have routine examinations periodically (see Chapter 9). When there is a danger signal or any doubt concerning a possible danger signal, be sure to have an immediate examination.

X-rays

It is advisable to have a chest X-ray made every year, since early lung cancers, as well as tuberculosis and some diseases of the heart, can sometimes be detected in this way.

For examination of the stomach and intestines, the X-ray involves special techniques that seem fairly complicated, including the use of barium sulphate that is either swallowed or inserted through the rectum. When barium is in the stomach or large intestine, the organ is revealed as a silhouette on the X-ray film.

Special examinations

Your doctor has available highly specialized instruments that are extremely valuable in studying the internal organs and locating small cancers in their early, curable stages. These instruments work on the principle of a periscope. A slender, usually flexible, tube is inserted into the region to be studied. A tiny bulb at the end lights up the area of the body that is being examined.

Radioisotopes

These are used widely in diagnosing cancer in certain organs, such as the thyroid gland and the liver. Radio-active forms of iodine, phosphorus, gold, iron, or cobalt tend to concentrate in certain organs, making it easier for doctors to diagnose the state of the organ.

Biopsy

This is the definite way of determining whether or not even a tiny growth is cancerous or precancerous. A bit of tissue is removed and examined under the microscope. This examination is made by a pathologist, a doctor who specializes in determining from the appearance of tissue whether it is normal or shows signs of a tumour or other disease.

Sometimes it is not possible to perform a biopsy until the time of the actual operation on a rumour. In such a case, a small piece of tissue is removed during the operation and given to the waiting pathologist, who freezes it immediately, examines it under the microscope, and gives the report to the surgeon. This procedure is called the frozen section technique.

Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test

This simple test is used in detecting cancers of the lung, the stomach, and, particularly, the cervix (the mouth of the uterus). Fluid from one of these parts of the body is put on a slide and placed under the microscope.

Blood test

The blood is tested chemically for cancer of the prostate and for a rare malignancy of the bone marrow called multiple myeloma. A blood smear and blood count help in the diagnosis of leukaemias, but this is not a chemical test.

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