Patient Information
Routine tests
you may have
Below are descriptions of some tests that could be used to find out the cause of your
symptoms. Your doctor will only choose the most appropriate tests for you.
Blood test
A blood test can help in finding out about your general health, giving information on
many aspects of health including:
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How well your kidneys and liver are working.
If your body’s ‘biochemistry’ is balanced (e.g. enough calcium and protein).
Ongoing infection or openness to infection (white cell count).
Anaemia or lack of circulating oxygen (haemoglobin)
Susceptibility to bruising or bleeding (platelets).
Chest X-ray
A chest X-ray is a simple x-ray of the chest which can sometimes show abnormalities
such as inflammation, infection, scarring and growths.
Lung function tests
These are tests to establish how well your lungs are working (air/oxygen capacity).
These simple tests usually involve blowing into a mouth-piece.
Ultrasound of neck
This is the same sort of scan that is used on pregnant women. During it, gel is spread
on the area that is being scanned and a small device is passed over it. The device
produces soundwaves and a computer uses these to make a picture. It only takes a
few minutes.
Sputum (spit) test / phlegm test
For this test, you would be asked to cough up phlegm into a sample container several
times. The phlegm is sent to the laboratory and it may take several days for the results
to come back.
Other tests
Other tests include:
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Bone scan
Bronchoscopy
CT scan (computed tomography)
Mediastinoscopy
MRI scan (magnetic resonance imager)
PET scan
You will be offered separate information for any of these tests.
If you have any questions, you can ask your GP or any other doctor or nurse who is
involved in your care to help you.
About this Information
This guide is provided for general information only and is not a substitute for professional
medical advice. Every effort is taken to ensure that this information is accurate and
consistent with current knowledge and practice at the time of publication.
We are constantly striving to improve the quality of our information. If you have a
suggestion about how it can be improved, please contact us via our website:
http://www.cancerni.net.
The information in this leaflet is sourced from the Roy Castle Lung Foundation website.
The original information can be viewed at http://www.roycastle.org/patient/facts_tests.htm.
Developed October ‘08 by NICaN Lung Cancer Information Pathway group. For review October ‘09.