Blood Poison: How We Detect Cancer in Blood
When a doctor takes a blood sample to check for cancer, here’s what they’re looking for
No matter your age, sex, or personal history, the thought of developing cancer is a scary one.
Treatment methods for cancer have come a long way in the last few decades. Diagnoses that used to be a death sentence are now treatable, and cancer types that were a coin flip in the past are now far more survivable.
Even so, there’s still a lot of fear when a doctor suggests taking a sample or investigating to check. We know that it’s better to catch a cancerous tumor early, before it’s managed to spread (or metastasize). Still, there’s an emotional hammer that hits us when the doctor takes a blood sample.
“This will go off to the lab,” they will say, “and we’ll have your results soon.”
What secrets, or dangers, may be hidden in that blood sample? What marks the difference between good blood and bad blood, and how can a small vial of blood reveal whether there’s cancer lurking somewhere in our bodies?
