Tests before, during and after cancer treatment

Tests and cancer treatment

The waiting is over and after many tests and exams you know your diagnosis. Your health-care team has explained to you and your family the type of cancer you have. Now the focus moves to treatment.

The types of treatment you need will depend on the kind of cancer you have. No matter what, you will need to have more tests before and during treatment, and even for many years after your treatment is finished.

Tests before treatment

Your health-care team may set up tests for you either before your treatment starts or very early in your treatment. These tests show your health-care team how all the different parts of your body are working. They can include tests that check your:

• kidneys: GFR (glomerular filtration rate test)
• heart: ECG (electrocardiogram) and/or ECHO (echocardiogram) tests
• bone: BMD (bone mineral density)
• lungs: PFT (pulmonary function tests)
• hearing (audiogram)
  
• teeth (dental assessment)

These tests are described in the following sections, but remember that you may not need all of them.

Will I need tests during cancer treatment?

During your treatment you will have a number of tests, including some of the tests you had during diagnosis (such as scans and blood tests).

The tests help your health-care team see how well the treatment is working to kill the cancer and how the rest of your body is holding up. Remember that treatment works by killing the cancer cells. Sometimes the treatment can damage healthy cells too. That is why your health-care team needs to monitor your whole body for changes, not just the parts that are directly affected by cancer.

Why do I need all these tests?

By repeating tests, and comparing the results from before, during, and after treatment, your health-care team can see how treatment is changing not only your cancer but the rest of your body too. Your health-care team wants to help you beat cancer and be as healthy as possible afterwards.