Diagnosing Cancer
In cancer care, it’s important to get from your diagnosis to treatment to survivorship as quickly and accurately as possible. At Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, we offer testing and staging services for all types of cancer. Whether you are receiving a screening, a diagnosis or a second opinion, our world-renowned team of experts is ready to provide you with everything needed to prepare for cancer treatment.
Getting a Second Opinion
You may already have a cancer diagnosis. In those cases, the experienced and compassionate Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center specialists can confirm your diagnosis and discuss the best customized treatment plan for the type and stage of your cancer.
Cancer Screening Tests
At Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, we provide screening tests and staging for all cancer types. Cancer screening tests check for signs of cancer activity before symptoms appear and are critical for early detection and successful treatment. If your medical or family history puts you at a higher risk for cancer it’s important to get screened regularly.
Cancer Diagnostic Tests
An accurate cancer diagnosis is crucial for developing the right personalized treatment plan. There are many diagnostic tests for each type of cancer. The most common tests include these:
Getting Your Results
We understand how important it is to get cancer diagnostic test results quickly. Our radiologists often offer same-day imaging test results. Our pathologists use leading-edge technology to track each test and ensure it is analyzed quickly and accurately.
Your compassionate and knowledgeable care team will reach out to you directly to share results and discuss your next steps. You can also review your results within Montefiore MyChart, our online patient portal.
Cancer Staging
With many cancers, doctors use staging after diagnosis to indicate how advanced a cancer is. Cancer staging helps you understand the seriousness of your disease. Staging also helps your care team prepare the best personalized treatment plan and potentially find clinical trial options that might be helpful to you.
Some of the same tests used to diagnose cancer are used to determine its stage. These include imaging tests like X-rays and bloodwork.
How Cancer Is Staged
Most cancers are staged by medical professionals using a system called the tumor, node and metastasis (TNM) system to more exactly measure the stage of your cancer. Cancers that may be staged using other systems include brain and spinal cord cancers and blood cancers.
In the TNM staging system,
- T describes the size of the main (primary) tumor,
- N refers to the number of nearby lymph nodes that have cancer and
- M indicates if cancer has metastasized (spread to other body parts).
Numbers are added within the TNM system to give more details about your cancer.
You may be more familiar with a less technical staging method. This method, which describes cancer in stages ranging from 0 to 5, is a less-detailed version of TNM.
- Stage 0: Cells could become cancerous. Stage 0 is not cancer but indicates that abnormal pre-cancerous cells are present.
- Stages 1, 2 and 3: Cancer is detected. The higher the number, the larger the cancerous tumor and the more it has spread into nearby tissues.
- Stage 4: Cancer has spread beyond the primary tumor.
Your doctor and nurse navigator will talk with you about your cancer stage and answer your questions. They will then use your cancer staging to develop your personalized comprehensive treatment plan.