What kinds of tests for Mesothelioma can the doctor request?

Pleural Mesothelioma is easier to diagnose then Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

There are three (3) useful tests when beginning to diagnose your condition:

With the use of X-rays a photographic image is obtained from low doses of high energy radiation. High doses of X-rays can be used to treat some cancers and is called radiation therapy.

A CT (Computed Tomography) scan is a special kind of X-ray controlled by computer and is commonly known as a CAT scan. The CAT scan machine rotates around the patient’s body which enables it to create 3-D pictures of the body using X-rays.

CAT scan for malignant Mesothelioma — CAT Scanner uses Computed Tomography to get photographic images of Mesothelioma cancer

Sometimes after the first CAT scan of a patient is complete, the patient is given a “contrast agent” by blood vein which will outline and delineate different parts of the body in a second CAT scan.

When a doctor finds something abnormal in a chest X-ray image of a patient, a CAT can will be requested because it provides a lot more information with images of greater detail. The CAT scan images can more clearly display a tumor (and/or fluid) where an X-ray image of lesser quality shows what could be appraised as pneumonia or fluid. The CAT scan can “see” masses in the middle areas of the chest around the heart where an ordinary X-ray images finds it impossible to “see.”

Because a CT scanner can provide a picture of tumors, it can also help determine the size of a tumor as well as if the tumor is spreading over time between periodic scans. The CT scanner is helpful, too, when diagnosing peritoneal Mesothelioma since the machine gets 3-D pictures of the abdomen when scanning for fluid and abnormal masses.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans (or MRI) can be used to evaluate a patient that may have Mesothelioma. The MRI machine uses radio waves and magnets to create photographic images. No radiation is involved. A patient receiving an MRI scan may, or may not, have intravenous material put into their veins for contrast. MRI scanning is most effective for examining the diaphragm muscle for Mesothelioma, a muscle located between the chest and the abdomen.

In addition to one (or all ) of the scan types being requested by your doctor, he/she will also ask for blood tests as a measure of how well your internal systems are operating. If you have a tumor then it might be indicated by a low blood count. If your doctor calls for lung function tests, those test results will be abnormal in the presence of Pleural Mesothelioma. When there is evidence of medical problems in your liver or kidneys, your doctor may might find evidence of abdominal Mesothelioma because there is a tumor growing near them.

The most sure way for making a good diagnosis for malignant Mesothelioma is to call for a sample tissue biopsy, and the scan methods listed above are important tools for giving a surgeon information about where to take your biopsy.