Tests and investigations are used to find out if you have cancer, what type it is, and at what stage it is at in your body. They are also carried out to see how you are doing before, during and after treatment.  No body likes having tests it can be a really scary and worrying time but knowing a little about what the tests are and what you can expect may help. 

Main Tests

Click on a test name below to find out more.

• X-Ray
  Is a painless procedure that takes pictures of inside the body using high-energy rays. Most of us will be familiar with someone who has either had an x-ray or your may even had one yourself to look and see if a bone is broken following an accident. X-rays can be used for various reasons to look for signs of infection or tumour such as chest x-ray or a bone x-ray to see if the cancer has affected the bones. A barium x-ray is used to get a better picture of the stomach or bowel. The barium is a liquid that shows up the ins and outs of the stomach or bowel under the x-ray.
• Ultrasound Scan
  Is a painless procedure during which high frequency sound waves are used to see internal organs.
• CT Scan
  Is a painless procedure. Sometimes, depending on the area of the body to be scanned, patients may be asked to fast and/or drink a special dye prior to the test. Computed tomography (CT) works by combining computer technology with radiology to produce cross sectional pictures of internal organs. The dye is used to improve the images and produce a clearer picture.
• MRI Scan
  Magnetic resonance imaging is a test that shows the internal areas of the body not easily seen by other machines, by placing the patient within a strong magnetic field. This is a painless procedure, however the machinery used to complete these tests often appears quite big and imposing. It is important to remember that someone is always close at hand and that you can communicate very easily with computer staff during the test.
• Biopsy
  A small sample of tissue is taken from the body and looked at under a microscope so that a diagnosis can be made. How it is taken will depend on where the tissue is taken from.
• Blood Tests
  A sample of blood is taken using a needle, which draws blood from the body for testing. For more information on the blood tests and why they are so important see why are blood tests so important?

Why are blood tests so important?

In order to understand why cancer doctors take so many blood samples and base treatment schedules on results it is important to understand exactly where blood comes from and how it is affected by cancer treatment.

Blood is formed in the marrow of certain bones in the body. The marrow's special job is to ensure that the blood is constantly supplied with enough red cells, white cells and platelets to keep the body healthy, protected from injury and safe from infection. Each blood cell has a limited life, therefore the bone marrow must ensure that the blood cells are continually dividing and multiplying to produce enough new blood cells, as and when the body needs them.

• White Blood Cells
  Are often called the body's soldiers because once attacked by infection they are able to grow in large numbers to destroy the infection or enemy. They have a very short life span just 4-5 days.  This means that during chemotherapy (chemo) the bone marrow has great difficulty producing the number of white cells required to keep the body safe from infection.
• Platelets
  Platelets are very important blood cells; their job is to protect the body from blood loss after injury.  They send messages to the cells in the damaged area, ordering them to clump together to form a clot, which halts the blood flow. They normally have a short life span (9-10 days) and during chemotherapy when the bone marrow is constantly being bombarded with anti-cancer drugs it sometimes cannot produce enough platelets to keep the body safe. Although low platelets counts do not happen to everyone, cancer doctors are very aware that it can be a possibility and monitor blood samples on a regular basis.
• If my platelets are low what will happen?
  This does not happen to everyone, and is treated by either a short delay in the treatment schedule to allow the cells to recover, or, if platelets are very low, a transfusion of donor platelets may be necessary; this is a painless procedure and will be full explained by a specialist nurse or doctor if it is required.
• Red Blood Cells
  Red blood cells have much longer life span (120 days) than white cells or platelets.  Their job is to remove oxygen from the air we breathe, and carry it on the surface of red cells, around the body via the circulatory system. This ensures that our body's organs and tissues have enough oxygen to function properly and keep us healthy. Once the body has used the oxygen from the red cells, the circulatory system carries the waste or carbon dioxide to the lungs where the red cells get more oxygen from the air we breathe. This process continues throughout life.
• If my red blood cells are low what will happen?
  Low red blood cell count occurs when the red blood cells are unable to carry enough oxygen around the body to meet its demands. This can occur as a result of the cancer itself or as a result of chemotherapy. Low red blood cells count or anaemia can be treated very effectively by either an injection to boost the production of red blood cells OR a blood transfusion from a donor.