Cancer is a disease that develops as a result of the fact that some part of healthy cells turns into non-viable cells that do not fulfill their functions and roles. In another case, cells with altered DNA can become a cancerous tumor.
Many people are interested in the question of determining cancer at the earliest stages and how can one be examined for oncology in order to get the most accurate result, to start treatment on time or to remove fears of a dangerous diagnosis.
We will consider the diagnosis of cancer in this article.
How does cancer occur?
In the normal state, the body itself is able to eliminate altered cells, but quite often there are cases when there are so many such cells that the body itself can no longer cope with this task. Such cells only increase over time, and tumors or other manifestations occur. Experts have identified 200 different types of cancer, given the many possible factors: the place of occurrence, shape, etc.
Early diagnosis of cancer is important.
How can one deal with oncology?
You can find a huge number of traditional medicine tips that shows and tells how to effectively fight cancer. All of them speak of miraculous healings, but unfortunately, all of them were contrived and never had real results. The truly effective ways can be called those methods that are currently used in medicine, especially abroad. Such methods include radiosurgery and radiation therapy.
Cancer Diagnostics
In cancer treatment, the most important is early diagnosis. If you identify the disease in time, you can choose the most suitable way to fight cancer and provide the right treatment for cancer of a particular type. A wide variety of cancer diagnostic methods are used to determine the disease.
Doctor examination
And of course, an examination by a doctor is the very first method. A competent doctor at the first examination will be able to identify suspected cancer in the patient and send him to do tests and studies. Perhaps this is an important stage, because to distinguish cancer from normal is not so simple. A person can walk for a long time and do completely inappropriate tests. And at this time, the cancerous tumor will become larger and only progress.
What else is cancer diagnosis?
Biochemical and general blood test
Usually, a general blood test does not practically change with a cancer, but there are indicators that you need to pay attention to:
- accelerated ESR, increased hemoglobin and a large number of red blood cells;
- causeless ESR acceleration with a normal white blood cell count;
- the development of anemia, an inexplicable decrease in hemoglobin levels.
A general blood test for leukemia can be the first signal of the disease:
- decrease in hemoglobin level;
- low or large number of individual elements;
- accelerated ESR;
- change in the percentage of cells of the leukocyte link.
Cancer can also be detected by a biochemical blood test. You need to be wary and worry about the next study in such cases:
- there is an increase in the activity of transaminases - this can be said about cancer of the kidneys, liver and pancreas;
- there is a significant increase in calcium levels - this will indicate thyroid cancer and kidney cancer;
- there are constant violations of the level of hormones - most endocrine-dependent tumors in the initial stages make themselves felt only by a change in the level of hormones.
Tumor markers
Only tumor markers in the blood that were detected during biochemical analysis will detect cancer. Oncomarkers are the waste products of malignant tumors, proteins with antibodies that produce healthy tissues that respond to cancer cell invasion.
But analyzes for tumor markers, unfortunately, do not have mass popularity. The reasons are on the one hand - high cost, on the other - mistakes are not uncommon, sometimes they show a positive result if there are ordinary inflammatory processes. The most popular types of tumor markers that detect cancer are CA 125 (ovarian cancer), PSA (prostate cancer), CA 15-3 (breast cancer), CA 19-9 (gastrointestinal cancer), CEA (lung cancer, large intestine, bladder, cervix, mammary and pancreas, liver).
Genetic analysis
In clinics, cancer diagnosis is becoming more common.
Genetic analyzes are carried out not only for healthy people, but also already sick. They have the ability to identify the predisposition of the body to cell transformation, mutations.
Some women who learn that they have such a gene have a prophylactic mastectomy. But this radical procedure does not give an absolute guarantee not to get breast cancer in the future.
Also, in the diagnosis of lung cancer, for example, radiography is used.
Roentgenography
So far, there is a standard routine X-ray examination procedure. But more sophisticated radiography techniques may also be performed.
Bronchography
This type of examination is intended to diagnose lung cancer or monitor postoperative changes. To do this, under local or general anesthesia, a contrast agent is injected into the lungs, then a series of pictures are taken.
Angiography
Another type of x-ray study. Angiography is used to examine vessels using a contrast medium. With this procedure, one can notice the vasculature of the formation. This method will help with various types of therapy.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
Mammography
In our world, mammography is a common procedure during a routine examination. It can also be used to more accurately establish a diagnosis such as breast cancer. This procedure is carried out by compressing the chest a little to avoid misinterpretation.
Magnetic resonance imaging
The research method using magnetic resonance imaging allows you to examine the internal organs and tissues of a person. It is based on the use of nuclear magnetic resonance.
MRI is a high-tech examination method that allows you to look at the human body from the inside and detect many pathologies and diseases, for example, you can identify neurological disorders, damage to the musculoskeletal system and cancerous tumors. This is the diagnosis of stomach cancer.
MRI can accurately assess the structure of internal organs, detect traumatic changes, various tumors and other pathologies, examine the functions of organs (measure cerebrospinal fluid flow, blood flow velocity, etc.). And you can also get real-time images of the work of an internal organ, such as the heart.
Magnetic resonance imaging is of great importance in oncology, especially in the early detection of tumors. At the moment, no other diagnostic method can see a tumor with a size of 1-3.5 mm. It can also be assumed without exaggeration that oncological screening using MRI is the main tool to detect malignant and benign tumors throughout the human body. It will allow not only to detect cancerous tumors, but also with the utmost accuracy to identify their nature, size and establish the exact location.
MRI is indicated for those patients who suspect cancer or are already diagnosed. In the case of an already established diagnosis, MRI is prescribed to clarify the prevalence of pathological processes and choose a more optimal treatment regimen.
Also, magnetic resonance imaging can not only detect a local tumor, but also detect metastases.
Scintigraphy
An isotopic examination of bones, or scintigraphy, is used to detect bone metastases. You can conduct this study to determine the success of therapeutic measures for metastases and bone tumors.
Endoscopic examinations
Endoscopy is used to examine the genitals. Using special devices, the doctor can see what is happening in the organs. It is also possible to document what the doctor saw with the help of photos, video and digital technologies. You can take the biological material of the tumor for analysis.
To detect tumors in gastrooncology, they use:
- gastroscopy;
- esophagoscopy;
- sigmoidoscopy;
- duodenoscopy;
- colonoscopy.
In pulmono-oncology use:
- thoracoscopy;
- bronchoscopy.
In oncourology apply:
- nephroscopy;
- cystoscopy;
- urethroscopy.
In oncogynecology, studies are performed using:
What else can help diagnose cancer in the early stages?
PET CT
With the help of PET-CT, the processes occurring in the body can be visualized at the molecular level. It is often used to detect metastases in a cancerous tumor or for a more accurate study, for example, in order to identify the stage of the disease, the prevalence in the organ and beyond. This method will allow you to accurately determine what work needs to be done with surgery.
Biopsy
A biopsy is a method of taking tissue from a possible tumor to conduct cytological and histological examination of the material. This procedure is considered one of the most unsafe, but it is the most accurate way to examine malignant tumors.
We examined the main diagnostic methods. Cancer treatment is provided below.
Cancer treatments
After cancer has been identified and its type has already been determined, it is necessary to choose a specific method of combating oncology. These methods include:
- Chemotherapy This method of treating a cancer tumor is called the use of cytotoxic drugs that prevent the division of cancer cells. Abroad, they are constantly developing the latest and improved cytotoxic substances for the treatment of cancer.
- Radiotherapy Its use is in the interaction of radiation rays with the DNA of cancer cells. This method is very dangerous for the immune system, but it is improved over time, gradually reducing its effect on the immune system.
- Immunotherapy This method can be used at any stage of cancer therapy, as it can reduce the effect of the disadvantages of other methods, especially radiological.
- Bone marrow transplantation. Such a method may be necessary in the treatment of oncohematology.
- Surgical method. This method involves the surgical removal of the tumor. This method is the most dangerous and coarse and can not remove the tumor in hard to reach places.
Oncology is constantly expanding this list, but the currently used methods are all of the above.
These methods of cancer diagnosis and treatment exist today.