The Cancer Journey

The cancer journey can be a long and winding road, with a succession of specialists, choices and decisions. At the outset, it may seem a bewildering route. Signposts and possibly a guide may be required.

First step; tests

Your first guide, and probably your best one for the whole odyssey, is your current regular medical advisor. It is likely that they were the first person from whom you sought advice on a lump, a pain or something abnormal, and who sent you off for initial investigations. These might have involved, to give just a few examples, scans (click here for explanations and demonstrations), blood tests, mammograms, biopsy or colonoscopy.

These tests, particularly scanning and histopathology (looking at the biopsy under the microscope) will involve the interpretational skills of consultant radiologists and pathologists They assess and interpret your scans and biopsies and pass on to your GP and consultant their findings. (In the jargon, they ‘report on’ your scans and biopsy). You may not meet these specialists, but their experience and judgement are a vital part of determining the best treatment for you. Consultant surgeons can often be involved early on too, in order to assist in making a definite diagnosis even before deciding on the best treatment. Other specialised consultants you may encounter are, for example, chest physicians and gastroenterologists, according to the situation.

The results of all of these tests will confirm an initial diagnosis of whether you have cancer, and if so, the type of tumour involved and how far it may have spread. There are hundreds of different types of cancer, which are grouped into two broad categories, ‘solid tumours’, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer etc: and haematological malignancies, which are cancers of the blood, lymph glands and bone marrow. The category system that describes how far the cancer has developed is called the staging system, resulting in each cancer having both a type and a 'stage' For more information visit the Macmillan Website

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