Читать книгу Overcome the Challenges of Cancer Care - M. D. Rosenberg - Страница 14

We all have normal lumps and bumps in our bodies. These are found everywhere and are a normal part of existence. So how do we tell if something is a normal bump or cancer?

If a doctor identifies a suspicious mass or growth, a biopsy is often performed. This means getting a tissue sample using a needle. Why is getting tissue so important? It tells us what we’re dealing with—an infection, cancer, or something else.

We have many ways to get the right tissue for a biopsy. If the mass is easy to see and near the skin, a needle can be used to get the tissue without much aid. If a mass is slightly deeper in the body, like in the armpit, an ultrasound probe is often used to guide the needle. Ultrasound uses sound waves to see deeper into tissues. (The same technology is used in pregnancy to see a fetus.) If a mass is deeper in the body, we often use CT (or CAT) scans to help guide the biopsy. A CT scan gives us a 3-D image that allows us to slowly advance a needle to hit the mass.

Many liquid cancers, such as leukemia, don’t form a mass we can see for a biopsy. These cancers form from cells that flow through a person’s bloodstream. They’re found through abnormalities in a person’s blood counts when a doctor orders blood tests.

As you may recall, blood cells come from a special material called bone marrow, which is found inside large bones, such as the pelvis. For liquid cancers, we often do a bone marrow biopsy. This allows us to better classify a liquid cancer. (See chapter 1 for more information on solid and liquid tumors.)