Navigating Lung Cancer Navigating Lung Cancer | Page 18

NAVIGATING LUNG CANCER
Diagnosing Lung Cancer
Your health-care team has to address three main issues:
1. What type of lung cancer is it? (the diagnosis)
2. Where is it located? (the stage)
3. What do we do about it? (the treatment plan)
It’s important to answer the first two questions as quickly as possible.
Activities to find the answers must be done correctly. This may take a
little longer. The best treatment plan for you depends on accuracy in
the diagnosis and staging of your cancer.
Your health-care team will ask you lots of questions about your health.
They will take a full medical history. They will also perform a thorough
physical exam. Tests will be ordered to assess what’s causing your
symptoms. If the tests suggest cancer, additional tests will be done.
Test results help your medical team get an accurate diagnosis and stage.
Only then can they develop your treatment plan.
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