In order to find out whether a person is suffering from cancer or not, one may not have to go to the doctor for investigations. The doctor may proceed as follows:
· History taking
· Physical examination
· Laboratory investigations
However, a doctor may either proceed through all the three steps or he may be able to arrive at a diagnosis only through history taking and physical examination. One should leave it to the doctor for proceeding with the investigations.
History Taking
The aim is to get from the patient an accurate account of his complaints: how the symptoms started, how they progressed, What treatment the patient took and with what results. This Information is recorded under the following heads:
· Presenting complaints
· History of present illness
· History of past illness
· Family history of any disease
· Social and personal history of the patient, e.g. whether he is a smoker
· Occupational history Treatment history
History taking is as much a science as it is an art. The important thing is for the doctor to make the patient comfortable and at ease so that he narrates all that the doctor needs to know. Social and personal history of the patient as well as the occupational history are important aspects when cancer is suspected.
Physical Examination
After having taken the complete history, the doctor does the physical examination of the patient. This includes the general examination of the body, and the local examination of the part from which the complaints of the patient arise.
The important points that are noted are general appearance of the patient, i.e. whether the patient looks well or unwell, properly nourished or malnourished, has or has not lost weight, looks depressed or anxious, has pain or not, etc. Besides these the following points are also to be noted:
· Pulse rate
· Temperature
· Blood pressure
· Breath rate
· Any swelling anywhere in the body
Wasting of any part of the body Certain examination are also important, such as:
· Examination of the throat, nose, eyes, ears, neck
· Examination of the abdomen
· Examination of the heart
· Examination of the chest
· Examination of the nervous system
· Examination of the skin, nails, bones, muscles and limbs.
· Examination of the genitals in males, including the rectal examination for the prostate glands, and examination of the female genital parts which includes examination of the vagina and the cervix of the uterus.
General Laboratory Investigations
There are whole lot of laboratory investigations to aid quick and definite diagnosis. But one may not have to undergo all these tests and investigations.
It is for the doctor to suggest investigations that may be required for a particular person suspected of cancer of a particular part or area of the body. The investigations may be general in nature or related to cover specific organ system.