This archive report was first published on 6 August 2019.
Understanding Cancer Diagnosis ¶
According to the World Health Organisation, cancer is a large group of diseases characterised by the growth of abnormal cells beyond their usual boundaries that can then invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs.
On August 6, 2019, Elizabeth Merab wrote that cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumours in a multi-stage process that generally progresses from a pre-cancerous lesion to a malignant tumour.
These changes are the result of the interaction between a person's genetic factors and three categories of external agents, including physical carcinogens, such as ultraviolet and ionising radiation; chemical carcinogens, such as asbestos, components of tobacco smoke, aflatoxin (a food contaminant), and arsenic (a drinking water contaminant); and biological carcinogens, such as infections from certain viruses, bacteria, or parasites.
Diagnostic Tests for Cancer ¶
Doctors often use various tests to find or diagnose cancer, including breast self-exam, breast exam, breast ultrasound, diagnostic mammogram, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and biopsy.
These tests help determine if a lump may be cancer, with the ones that are not cancerous tending to have different physical features than ones that are.
Imaging tests such as mammograms and ultrasounds can often see the difference, and when and if you need these imaging tests is a personal decision between you and your doctor.
Most women do not start having mammograms until they're at least 40, but if you are at higher risk for breast cancer, your doctor may want you to start at a younger age.
Prostate Cancer Diagnosis ¶
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men, and it is caused by abnormal cell replication in the prostate — a small walnut-shaped gland in men that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.
Most prostate cancers are first found during screening with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test or a digital rectal exam (DRE), and early prostate cancers usually do not cause symptoms, but more advanced cancers are sometimes first found because of symptoms they cause.
PSA blood test and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) are used to screen for prostate cancer in men without symptoms, and TRUS is often used to look at the prostate when a man has a high prostate-specific antigen level or has an abnormal digital rectal exam result.
Prostate biopsy is a procedure in which small samples of the prostate are removed and then looked at under a microscope, and it is usually done by a urologist, a surgeon who treats cancers of the genital and urinary tract, which includes the prostate gland.
