Some lung cancers can be found by screening, but most lung cancers are found because they are causing problems. The actual diagnosis of lung cancer is made by looking at a sample of lung cells in the lab. If you have possible signs or symptoms of lung cancer , see your doctor.
Your doctor will ask about your medical history to learn about your symptoms and possible risk factors. Your doctor will also examine you to look for signs of lung cancer or other health problems. If the results of your history and physical exam suggest you might have lung cancer, more tests will be done. Imaging tests use x-rays, magnetic fields, sound waves, or radioactive substances to create pictures of the inside of your body.
Imaging tests might be done for a number of reasons both before and after a diagnosis of lung cancer, including:. A chest x-ray is often the first test your doctor will do to look for any abnormal areas in the lungs. If something suspicious is seen, your doctor may order more tests. A CT scan uses x-rays to make detailed cross-sectional images of your body.
Instead of taking 1 or 2 pictures, like a regular x-ray, a CT scanner takes many pictures and a computer then combines them to show a slice of the part of your body being studied. A CT scan is more likely to show lung tumors than routine chest x-rays. It can also show the size, shape, and position of any lung tumors and can help find enlarged lymph nodes that might contain cancer that has spread.
This test can also be used to look for masses in the adrenal glands, liver, brain, and other organs that might be due to the lung cancer spread. CT-guided needle biopsy: If a suspected area of cancer is deep within your body, a CT scan might be used to guide a biopsy needle into this area to get a tissue sample to check for cancer.
But MRI scans use radio waves and strong magnets instead of x-rays. MRI scans are most often used to look for possible spread of lung cancer to the brain or spinal cord. For a PET scan , a slightly radioactive form of sugar known as FDG is injected into the blood and collects mainly in cancer cells.
This lets the doctor compare areas of higher radioactivity on the PET scan with a more detailed picture on the CT scan. This is the type of PET scan most often used in patients with lung cancer. For a bone scan , a small amount of low-level radioactive material is injected into the blood and collects mainly in abnormal areas of bone. A bone scan can help show if a cancer has spread to the bones.
Symptoms and the results of certain tests may strongly suggest that a person has lung cancer, but the actual diagnosis is made by looking at lung cells in the lab. The cells can be taken from lung secretions mucus you cough up from the lungs , fluid removed from the area around the lung thoracentesis , or from a suspicious area using a needle or surgery biopsy. The choice of which test s to use depends on the situation.
A sample of sputum mucus you cough up from the lungs is looked at in the lab to see if it has cancer cells. The best way to do this is to get early morning samples 3 days in a row. This test is more likely to help find cancers that start in the major airways of the lung, such as squamous cell lung cancers. It might not be as helpful for finding other types of lung cancer.
If your doctor suspects lung cancer, further testing will be done even if no cancer cells are found in the sputum. Complementary and alternative medicine are medicines and health practices that are not standard treatments doctors usually use to treat cancer. Many kinds of complementary and alternative medicine have not been tested scientifically and may not be safe. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits before you start any kind of complementary or alternative medicine.
Choosing the treatment that is right for you may be hard. Talk to your cancer doctor about the treatment options available for your type and stage of cancer. Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of each treatment and their side effects.
Side effects are how your body reacts to drugs or other treatments. Sometimes people get an opinion from more than one cancer doctor. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Lung Cancer. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Minus Related Pages. Specialists who treat people with lung cancer can include:. Because appointments can be brief, and because there's often a lot to discuss, it's a good idea to be well prepared.
To help you get ready, try to:. Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions will help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out.
For lung cancer, some basic questions to ask include:. In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask other questions during your appointment. Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions.
Being ready to answer them may allow more time later to cover other points you want to address. Your doctor may ask:. Lung cancer care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis Bronchoscopy Open pop-up dialog box Close. Bronchoscopy In flexible bronchoscopy, a doctor inserts a thin, bendable tube through the mouth or nose into the lungs. Lung cancer surgery Open pop-up dialog box Close. Lung cancer surgery Lung cancer surgery can involve removing a portion of the lung or the entire lung. Email address. First Name let us know your preferred name.
Last Name. Thank you for subscribing Your in-depth coping with cancer guide will be in your inbox shortly. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry.
Ablation therapy Brachytherapy Chemotherapy Proton therapy Radiation therapy Stop-smoking services Show more related information. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Non-small cell lung cancer. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Accessed Jan. Non-small cell lung cancer adult. Mayo Clinic; Small cell lung cancer. Niederhuber JE, et al. Cancer of the lung: Non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. In: Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. Elsevier; Small cell lung cancer adult. Lung cancer prevention PDQ.
National Cancer Institute. Accessed March 14, Lung cancer — non-small cell: Screening. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Detterbeck FC, et al. Diagnosis and management of lung cancer, 3rd ed. Amin MB, et al. Springer; Leventakos K, et al.
Advances in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer: Focus on nivolumab, pembrolizumab and atezolizumab. Warner KJ. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. Cairns LM. Managing breathlessness in patients with lung cancer. Nursing Standard.
World Health Organization. Temel JS, et al. Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. Dong H, et al.
0コメント