Cancer Screening and Diagnosis

Rely on your Englewood Health Physician Network provider and the specialists at Englewood Hospital to help detect cancer as early as possible. In most cases, this makes treatment easier and more effective.

How Cancer is Found

Ask your primary care doctor about screening and diagnostic tests that may be right for you based on your age, family history, and other factors. Your doctor can help you learn about:

  • Symptoms of cancer, how to do self-exams at home, and when to get medical help
  • Healthy lifestyle choices that can reduce your risk of cancer, such as not smoking

Cancer Tests

Screening tests look for signs of cancer before symptoms happen. Diagnostic tests determine the cause of symptoms. The type of test you have depends on the type of cancer your doctor is looking for.

You may have:

  • Physical exam
  • Blood test
  • Biopsy, which takes a small sample of tissue to examine in a laboratory
  • Genetic tests to check if you have certain genes that increase your risk for cancer
  • Imaging tests, such as an X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test
  • Urine test

What to Expect

Ask your doctor how to prepare for your test, how it will be done, and what to do afterwards. Expect fast and accurate test results thanks to Englewood Hospital’s onsite laboratory.

Minimally & Noninvasive Options

Your doctor uses the least-invasive techniques possible to do your test. This means you’ll avoid large incisions so you can heal faster and have less risk of complications.

Types of Tumors

If you have a tumor, your doctor will use the results of your test to determine the type. It may be:

  • Benign, or noncancerous
  • Malignant, or cancerous