Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

What is a biopsy?  A biopsy is the procedure in which a piece of tissue is obtained and examined under the microscope to determine whether cancer or other disease is present. This microscopic examination of the biopsy specimen is accepted by doctors in determining the nature of a tumor with complete accuracy. Therefore, whenever possible a doctor insists on obtaining a sample of every tumor that could be cancer before treatment is attempted. The biopsy provides the most reliable basis for a diagnosis of cancer. Who determines if the biopsy cells are cancerous?  The biopsy is "read" by a pathologist a physician who specializes in the study of normal and diseased body tissues. What kind of training does a pathologist have?  In order to be certified by the American Board of Pathology, the person must be a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy and have four years of training in both clinical and anatomic pathology or three years of training in either specialty ...

What is a biopsy? The term "biopsy," of course, does not apply only to the breast. It is a surgical procedure in which a part (incisional biopsy) or all (excisional biopsy) of any tumor, growth, cyst, flesh, or organ anywhere in the body is removed so that its nature may be determined by microscopic examination. The results of this examination, called the pathology report, indicate the exact diagnosis and help select the proper method of treatment, which may be further surgery, X-ray treatment, drug administration or no treatment at all. How is the biopsy treatment done?  This is a regular operation performed in the hospital on at least an overnight stay. It is usually done under general anesthesia so that the patient is asleep. The excised tissue is rapidly frozen like dry ice and cut into thin slices that can be viewed under the microscope. This procedure takes 15-30 minutes. It is employed only when this information is required during surgery as a guide to determini...