bookmark_borderAbout Diagnosing Ovarian Cancer

When it comes to ovarian cancer, it is especially important that you get an early diagnosis. Often an early diagnosis is key in providing you with enough time to allow your treatment to work. As with other life threatening illness it is important that you get ovarian cancer diagnosed as early as possible.

In modern times, everything seems like it is possible and many of us wonder why people are still dying from diseases. However, modern medicine still doesn’t promise that people will be completely free of malignant health problems.

Ovarian cancer is a good example since it affects women from the age of 45-60 and is considered deadly, simply, because it is a member of the cancer family. Women cannot escape the possibility of getting cancer. This is why it is important to consider how you can avoid ovarian cancer through proper awareness of the disease.

Being aware of ovarian cancer means that you are conscious of the symptoms and signs associated with the disease so that you can respond quickly before it can develop into an advanced stage. Ovarian cancer has no definitive signs, but you can try to diagnose ovarian cancer early through a series of radiology tests, a CT scan or an MRI.

However, even with these tests ovarian cancer may not be seen immediately. Exploratory surgery is often recommended in which a surgeon will get a tissue sample from within your body to confirm radiology scans.

Through these exploratory tests, patients can feel a level of pain. This is because with a biopsy a piece of flesh is taking from your body in order to determine if cancer cells are present. This is the most accurate and easiest way to diagnose and perform necessary tests associated with many cancers.

Sometimes a patient can even get results within a few hours. However, it is recommended that a woman take a blood test before resulting to the extreme of an operation. This is because a simple blood test can show if there is a protein tumor marker in the blood. It is always best to have a blood test done before you undergo any major testing.

If cancer cells are found in a patient’s body then a doctor will do what they can to remove as many of the cancer cells as possible. After this, the patient may need to undergo regular treatment to prevent the cancer from growing and spreading to other areas of the body.

The doctors never take this issue for granted since no one can completely guarantee that cancer cells won’t re-grow and continue to spread in a patient’s body. It is important to have cancer diagnosed early so that an experienced doctor can apply correct treatment. Nothing can treat ovarian cancer if it is diagnosed too late.

Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is the best thing you can do before starting treatment. After diagnosis, a doctor can provide further treatments including medicines and other life-long remedies to help. This is why it is important for every woman to be aware of the possibility that their body is susceptible to cancer as a result of aging and overworking.

 

bookmark_borderAbout Diagnosing Stomach Cancer

  • Endoscopy (Fibergastroscopy) – This is where a thin lighted tube (endoscope) is inserted through the mouth (after the throat has been numbed with anesthetic spray), the esophagus, and into the stomach region. The endoscope is capable of detecting early gastric cancer, together with benign (non cancerous) and malignant (cancerous) ulcers, and the different types of gastric cancers. The endoscope also has a tool attached to it that is capable of taking tissue samples from the stomach which can then be analyzed.
  • X-ray – Generally, an X-ray will be able to show if the cancerous cells are confined to the mucosa (top layer of cells of the stomach), and the submucosa (thin layer of muscle of the stomach below the lamina propria [layer of connective tissue]) in early stage stomach cancer by using electromagnetic radiation. X-rays are commonly used in the diagnosis of many types of cancers.
  • Computed Tomography (CT Scan) – A widely used high-resolution three-dimensional imaging scanner that uses X-rays to create cross-sectional images of the inside of a patients stomach; showing whether the gastric wall has been invaded by cancerous cells or not. The CT scan may also be used to show whether the cancer has metastasized through the blood channels.
  • Endoscopic Ultrasound – Used to diagnose the TNM staging of stomach cancer by sending sound waves that bounce off the stomach tissue and other organs. These sound waves are then converted by a computer into detailed images showing the layers of the stomach from the echoes caused. The images detail how much the stomach has been invaded by the cancer and to what degree.
  • Laparoscopy – This is where a surgeon makes a tiny incision in the abdomen and inserts a laparoscope (a small lighted tube) to take tissue samples, or to remove lymph nodes. This will give the gastroenterologist a precise staging of the cancer. Once the correct staging has been diagnosed, an adequate treatment plan may be offered.