To find out what exactly is going on or to see if the treatment is helping, your mum or dad has to go to hospital for some tests. Here are some of those tests.
X-rays
If every you have broken an arm or a leg, you know what an X-ray is. You can see bones on it and alo some other things. Sometimes fathers or mothers with cancer also have to have an X-ray taken. The doctor can see then what it looks like on the inside.
Ultrasound
An ultrasound is an examination with sonar waves. The doctor smears a little bit of gel on, for instance, your mum or dad’s tummy and moves a little handheld probe over it. The doctor can see on the tv-screen if something is the matter.
Blood tests
In a blood test your mum or dad’s blood is looked at. Usually the doctor can see a lot there. It does mean that your mum or dad often has to be pricked with a needle!
Scan
A lot of pictures of your mum or dad’s insides are taken quickly after each other using something that looks like a big drum. Your mum or dad has to lie on a table that very slowly moves through the drum.
MRI
This is just like a scan, but it´s not an X-ray, but with a magnet. The MRI can make a lot of noise. Because the examination takes rather a long time, your mum or dad can bring some music along to listen to.
Biopsy
The first thing a doctor nearly always does is to take away a little piece (a biopsy) from the tumour which is then examined in the laboratory under a microscope. In this way the doctor can see exactly what sort of cancer it is.
