The word "cancer" can send chills up anyone's spine. Whenever a person hears the word coming from his/her doctor, a feeling of dread (and sometimes, impending doom) can wash over them. After all, who in their right mind would feel happy about being diagnosed with cancer?
Before giving any diagnosis of cancer to their patient, doctors would require him/her to go through some tests. There are laboratory testing services that doctors - and patients - rely on in regards to diagnosing and even preventing cancer from happening. These laboratory testing services include blood tests, tumor markers, and urinalysis.
The first of these clinical laboratory testing services are blood tests. These can help detect the amount of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a patient's blood. Red blood cells are for the transportation of oxygen to the different parts of the body, while platelets are the body's protection from bleeding and bruising easily. When a blood test shows that there is a larger amount of white blood cells in the body than usual, it may mean that there is an infection. White blood cells are responsible for fighting any infection that occurs in the body.
If doctors would rely on the results of blood tests alone, then there would be hundreds of doctors diagnosing patients with cancer even if the patient is only suffering from a bout of colds. This is why other laboratory testing services are conducted in order to make sure that the patient really has cancer, and not some other illness.
The second test is a urinalysis. The body excretes different substances, and by filtering or examining these substances present in the urine, doctors can check for any further signs of cancer. Compared to the previous two tests, tumor markers are currently being used by doctors to monitor the status of a patient's cancer. Cancer cells usually excrete certain substances that help doctors check if the cancer has progressed or not. The medical community is now looking for ways of using tumor markers to help diagnose, detect, and possibly even treat cancer.
Cancer diagnosis can also be based on a patient's history and results of a physical examination. However, these laboratory testing services provide enough support whenever a doctor needs to inform his/her patient on the presence, absence, and stage of cancer in the patient's body.
Before giving any diagnosis of cancer to their patient, doctors would require him/her to go through some tests. There are laboratory testing services that doctors - and patients - rely on in regards to diagnosing and even preventing cancer from happening. These laboratory testing services include blood tests, tumor markers, and urinalysis.
The first of these clinical laboratory testing services are blood tests. These can help detect the amount of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a patient's blood. Red blood cells are for the transportation of oxygen to the different parts of the body, while platelets are the body's protection from bleeding and bruising easily. When a blood test shows that there is a larger amount of white blood cells in the body than usual, it may mean that there is an infection. White blood cells are responsible for fighting any infection that occurs in the body.
If doctors would rely on the results of blood tests alone, then there would be hundreds of doctors diagnosing patients with cancer even if the patient is only suffering from a bout of colds. This is why other laboratory testing services are conducted in order to make sure that the patient really has cancer, and not some other illness.
The second test is a urinalysis. The body excretes different substances, and by filtering or examining these substances present in the urine, doctors can check for any further signs of cancer. Compared to the previous two tests, tumor markers are currently being used by doctors to monitor the status of a patient's cancer. Cancer cells usually excrete certain substances that help doctors check if the cancer has progressed or not. The medical community is now looking for ways of using tumor markers to help diagnose, detect, and possibly even treat cancer.
Cancer diagnosis can also be based on a patient's history and results of a physical examination. However, these laboratory testing services provide enough support whenever a doctor needs to inform his/her patient on the presence, absence, and stage of cancer in the patient's body.
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