Pathology

Pathology is the medical specialty that deals with the examination of tissues and cells under the microscope in order to arrive at a diagnosis. When it comes to cancer, a pathological diagnosis is the gold standard that indicates the presence or absence of cancer, the type of cancer, and its classification. Because therapeutic decisions are based on the presumed reliability of the pathology diagnosis, a misdiagnosis can result in unnecessary, harmful and aggressive therapy or inadequate treatment. 

Our Pathology department is well equipped and has advanced cancer diagnosing methods. Our pathologists are excellent physicians and that the diagnoses they render are correct and accurate. Pathology tests for cancer consist of looking at a small sample of cells under a microscope. The pathologist can tell if they are cancerous by identifying abnormal structures in the cells. Most patients with cancer will have a biopsy. This may be done by removing a piece of the tumor during surgery, by fine needle aspiration, or with the use of an endoscope. The method depends on the type of mass and its location in the body. A typical biopsy involves the surgical removal of a mass of abnormal cells. Fine needle aspiration involves guiding a thin needle into the cancer and gently sucking out cells for microscopic evaluation. Once a tissue sample is obtained, the pathologist will look for pre-cancerous or cancerous cells. The pathologist then writes a pathology report summarizing the findings. Your primary doctor will use this report in conjunction with other relevant test results to make a final diagnosis and develop a treatment strategy.