How does a doctor know if you have cancer?

Question

Obviously a doctor has ways and can know for sure if you have cancer but, if you're just going to the doctor for a cold or some minor thing how would a doctor know to look and see if you have cancer? Does it have symptoms or say you have it and you don't know it but you never go to the doctor how would you find out? I'm just confused about this. Because the doctor isn't going to just be like ok now let me check for cancer at some random moment at you're appointment for strep throat or something. Anyways I don't know if I'm just rambling on or if this makes sense but I don't know how else to describe what I'm trying to ask.

Answer 1

A very good question. How a doctor finds that you are having cancer. You will not go to any doctor just for paying and chatting with him. You will have some ailment which you felt require a doctors attention and medication. After going to him you only say your problem however it is minor or negligible and from that he suspects something and ask you certain questions to find out what is wrong with you exactly. This is called diagnosis. If he suspects anything he may ask you to go for certain tests right from Blood, urine, or some Major tests and by this he will get confirmed of his doubt and announce you.

The General Signs and symptoms of Cancer -

Roughly, cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups:

Local symptoms: unusual lumps or swelling (tumor), hemorrhage (bleeding), pain and/or ulceration. Compression of surrounding tissues may cause symptoms such as jaundice.

Symptoms of metastasis (spreading): enlarged lymph nodes, cough and hemoptysis, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), bone pain, fracture of affected bones and neurological symptoms. Although advanced cancer may cause pain, it is often not the first symptom.

Systemic symptoms: weight loss, poor appetite and cachexia (wasting), excessive sweating (night sweats), anemia and specific paraneoplastic phenomena, i.e. specific conditions that are due to an active cancer, such as thrombosis or hormonal changes.

Every single item in the above list can be caused by a variety of conditions (a list of which is referred to as the differential diagnosis). Cancer may be a common or uncommon cause of each item.

So, if anyone has even slightest doubt of any disease he should see a qualified doctor and he will guide-

Answer 2

The only way the doc suspects cancer is to rule out other causes of your physical problems first. Say you come in with a sore throat or some throat problem as you said. He will rule such things as strep throat, and any other causes of your throat symptoms and then if all of you symptoms seem to lean toward throat cancer he will send you to a specialist to get a diagnosis. The doc rules out obvious causes for a problem and then goes from there. Sometimes though as in prostate cancer the doc feels an enlarged prostate on a rectal exam which could be cancer or be benign but he will then order a PSA blood test too and if it is elevated that would tell him that the enlarged prostate has cancer. Hope this helps some.

Answer 3

I have to tell you: you have received some excellent advice for this question but I see that someone has given the best answers a thumbs down. You seem to have some common sense about you so read the answers carefully and make your best judgement. The next time you are at your doctors office....you could ask him too. I think he'll say many of the same things people here have told you.

Answer 4

Here is the chilling answer to your question. Unless you have symptoms your family physician will NOT know. He is not a cancer specialist and unless it is something really obvious he will not find the cancer. I know this sounds unfair to the physician, especially the ones who do recognize cancer when they see it. But, I know so many patients who were misdiagnosed for not weeks, but months at a time that I can only conclude that a just having a regular yearly well physical is no guarantee that you are safe from cancer.

I have had conversations with oncologists about this problem, and was told that doctors have done a poor job warning teenagers and young adults about cancer. The older population is generally well aware and receive cancer screenings. Children, teens, and young adults are not expected to get cancer and are rarely screened. The general public needs to be educated on how to examine their own bodies and report unusual lumps or bumps. There are certain cancers that are specific to age groups and parents need to be aware of what to look for so they can tell their pediatrician.

Our family pediatrician did not notice that my 17 year old son had multiple abdominal tumors . . and he had just examined him a few weeks before. It wasn't until a endocrinologist suspected another problem that we were sent to the hospital and he was finally diagnosed with a stage IV cancer. Prior to that his doctor had thought he might have the flu or mono . . never suspected abdominal sarcoma.

You are your own best advocate. Trust your own instincts, if you feel something is wrong, insist that the doctor examine you thoroughly. If he doesn't believe you, it's time for a second opinion.

Answer 5

I don't know if we are routinely checked for cancer when we go in for treatment as you say for a cold or something else routine. I guess if the doc touched our lymph nodes and they were swollen, that might be an indication for the doc to order further tests. I'm not a doc, but what I understand is that they can tell by a blood test as well as many other very sophisticated tests. Based upon the symptoms the patient would describe, the doctor would order blood test, MRIs, X-Rays, ultra sound, mammogram, tests involving your digestive system, whatever to rule cancer out.

Answer 6

I just found out today that my niece was diagnosed with Cancer and it was because of other things that made the doc need blood work, Flu like symptoms and constant pain in the abdomen can make a doc wonder! I would think you should ask a physician what he would do ...what would lead him to check for cancer, there are so many kinds that effect all different parts of the body. Good luck!!

Answer 7

The Doctor knows what to look for and if all else is ruled out he runs the proper tests to see if you may have cancer as far as symtoms , some people never know they have it till it's too late to treat it. Some symtoms are being tired and bleeding.

Answer 8

Well, it depends. If you have a tumour and you notice it, you would most likely go to the doctor. If he/she is doing a physical, and they notice it, then whabam! They discovered it. You mostly have to notice changes in your own body. If you are feeling really tired, are losing weight, you have poor appetite, etc., and you go to your doctor, they might notice the signs. Also, if you have a condition or disease or something that predisposes you or is associated with a type of cancer, then your doctor might just routinely, for example, check your blood count or something.

Answer 9

www.yourdiseaserisk.com
This is a good web site to determine statistics on five of the leading diseases(including cancer).. It is a good one so open up and these are guidelines that a doctor uses

Answer 10

Generally by a group of symptoms or results of a blood test.

My doctor noticed some "minor" problems with a blood test, and the next thing I knew I was having bone and bone marrow test samples taken.