Screening Tests To Detect Cancer

Cancer does not cause any kind of symptoms. Therefore, one should have screening tests performed to diagnose cancer at an early stage. Only then, the condition will be cured. 

How is cancer diagnosed?

If a patient has a sign that he or she might have cancer, the physician will perform a physical exam and will ask about the medical history of the patient. Besides, the physician will order for various exams and tests for cancer detection.  These tests may include imaging procedures that generate pictures of the areas inside the body; endoscopy that allows the physician to have a look inside certain organs directly, and lab tests. In most of the cases, the physician also orders a biopsy to check for cancerous cells. 

Screening tests help in detecting cancer at a very early stage so that successful treatment for cancer is geared immediately. If symptoms start to appear, it means that cancer has already grown and has started to spread. This makes cancer more difficult to treat and cure. 

There are different types of cancer screening tests. They are:

Physical exam - It involves examining the body to verify normal signs of health or signs of illness such as lumps or something that is likely to be odd. 

Lab tests – Laboratory tests involve a series of medical procedures like blood test, urine test, sample tissue test, and tests that involve various other substances in the body.

Imaging procedures – It includes X-ray, CT scan, PET scan and other similar procedures. 

Genetic tests - It looks for particular gene mutations that are connected to a few types of cancer.

The worst aspect of these cancer screening tests is that they are risky at times. A few of them pose potential risks as they do not convey the exact message. It is important to know of the risks involved in these tests and whether they have been proven to minimize the chances of the patient dying from the disease or not. 

What’s more, in case of some cancer screening tests, false negative test results and false-positive test results are also possible! Therefore, one should rely on a proven test for cancer detection such as the NP Screen kit.