Blood Drug Testing

besides the blood test(CA125) for ovarian cancer or silent killer what other tests do we have?

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1. http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/how_ovarian_cancer_diagnosed_000092_5.htm please read up on this web site, it seems to have th most information I could find, hope this answers your questions.
2. Usually, you begin by seeing your usual doctor who will ask you about your general health and examine you. You will be asked about any symptoms you have/have had. Your doctor may take a blood sample which can be sent away for testing. Internal examination: Your doctor may want to examine you internally. This is to see if your womb and ovaries feel normal. Your doctor will ask you to lie on your back on the couch with your feet drawn up and your knees apart. Your doctor will then put one or two gloved fingers into your vagina at the same time as pressing down on your abdomen with the other hand. If any part of your reproductive system is enlarged, or if a mass of any kind is there, your doctor should be able to feel it. Your doctor may then put a speculum in to open up the vagina and see if your cervix looks normal. This examination shouldn't take more than five minutes at most. Your doctor may then refer you to a gynaecologist at your local hospital. At the hospital: The specialist/gyneacologist will begin by asking you about your medical history and symptoms. He or she will then examine you. You may be asked to have another internal examination. If your specialist is concerned that you may have ovarian cancer, you will have some tests arranged. You will be asked to have: CA125 blood test: CA125 is a tumour marker for ovarian cancer. A tumour marker is a chemical given off by cancer cells which can be picked up in a blood test. The level of the marker goes up as the cancer grows. The abnormal level can vary depending on the particular laboratory test that is used. The upper limit of normal can be 22.5, 30 or 35 units per millilitre (ml) of blood. If you do not have a raised level of CA125 in your blood, this does not necessarily mean you do not have ovarian cancer. Unfortunately it is not a completely reliable test. About half the women who have early stage ovarian cancer do not have raised levels of CA125. About 9 out of 10 women with more advanced ovarian cancer have raised CA125 levels. If you do have raised levels of CA125 you may not have ovarian cancer. It can be raised in a variety of other conditions. For example, endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease or even pregnancy. But it gives your specialist an indication that something may be wrong. And if you are found to have ovarian cancer with raised CA125 levels, the same blood test can be used to monitor your treatment and follow up. Ultrasound: This may be an abdominal ultrasound. Or it may be a transvaginal ultrasound. Both types of ultrasound test may be used to help diagnose ovarian cancer. It can help to show whether the ovaries are the right size, the ovaries appear normal in texture, whether there are any cysts in the ovaries. Transvaginal ultrasound can help to show whether any cysts you have contain cancer or not. If the cyst has any solid areas it is more likely to be cancer. Cysts and ovarian cancer: Cysts are fluid filled sacs that can develop in the ovaries. They are normal in fertile women who have regular periods and are ovulating (producing an egg) every month. Most cysts are not cancer. But they are more likely to be cancer if they are found in post menopausal women. If you are pre-menopausal with a small cyst that shows no sign of cancer growth on ultrasound, your specialist may suggest keeping an eye on it for a few months. It may shrink away on its own. Also, if you are pre-menopausal, and all your other tests are normal, you may be offered needle aspiration. Needle aspiration is done under local anaesthetic in the outpatients department. Using an ultrasound machine to guide where to put the needle, your doctor will put a thin needle through your abdomen and into the cyst on your ovary. The fluid inside can then be sucked out into a syringe. The fluid will be sent away to the laboratory. This test is not normally used if there is any suspicion that you may have cancer. This is because there is a small risk that the test could allow cancer cells to spread. If you are past your menopause or your cyst shows any sign that it may be cancer your specialist will recommend that you have surgery to have it removed and investigated. It is often not possible to diagnose ovarian cancer for certain without an operation. It may not be possible to diagnose ovarian cancer until you have had an operation. But if your tests suggest that you do have ovarian cancer, you may have to have further tests before surgery to see if the cancer has spread. And to decide on the best treatment. You may have to have: Abdominal fluid aspiration: If you have a swollen abdomen, this may be due to fluid build up. Fluid build up in the abdomen is called ascites and can be a sign of ovarian cancer that has spread. It can also be caused by other conditions that are not cancer. Your specialist will want to take a sample of fluid to check for cancer cells. This test is done in the out patients department. A local anaesthetic injection is given into the skin of the abdomen. Then, once the skin is numb, your doctor will put a thin needle in to draw out some of the fluid. This will then be sent to the laboratory to be examined for cancer cells. If you have a lot of fluid, your doctor may want to drain it off. This is called aspirating, abdominal tap or abdominal paracentesis. Laparoscopy: A laparoscopy is another investigation with a camera on a tube. During the test, your doctor can examine your ovaries and the surrounding area without you having to have a big operation. You have to have a laparoscopy in hospital though as you need a short general anaesthetic. When you are under the anaesthetic a small cut about half an inch long is made in your abdomen. The tube is put through this cut into the inside of the abdominal cavity. A small amount of carbon dioxide gas is then pumped into the abdomen to inflate it. This makes it easier for the doctor to see inside and examine you thoroughly. Your doctor then looks through the eye piece for any signs of cancer. If necessary, biopsies can be taken and sent to the laboratory to be examined for cancer cells. It is also possible to remove the ovaries with a laparoscope, rather than having an operation with a major incision. If the ovaries are removed, they will be sent to the laboratory to be examined for signs of cancer. When the examination is finished, the tube is taken out and a couple of stitches put in to close the incision. The stitches stay in for about a week. You will be able to get up as soon as your anaesthetic has worn off. The gas may make you feel bloated and uncomfortable for a couple of days. But it will gradually disperse on its own. Endoscopy: An endoscopy is test that looks inside the body. Your doctor might suggest an endoscopy if you have any gastric symptoms or your doctors thinks cancer could have spread into (or started in) the upper part of the digestive system. You may hear this test called a gastroscopy. If you have symptoms such as constipation or bleeding from the back passage you may have a colonoscopy. This is a test to look inside the large bowel. Other scans and tests: Chest X rays are sometimes done to see whether the cancer has spread to the lungs or is causing a pleural effusion (fluid on the lung). Occasionally MRI scans are done. Or a CT scan or ultrasound scan might be used to check for cancer around the kidney. You will not be given all these tests. Which ones are chosen will depend on your symptoms and the tests that the doctors have done so far. CT scans are general scans that can pick up cancer spread anywhere in the body and are done most commonly. After the tests you will be asked to come back to the hospital when your test results have come through. This is bound to take a little time, even if only a day or two. You may feel very anxious during this time. While you are waiting for results it may help to talk to a close friend or relative about how you are feeling. Or you may want to contact a cancer support group to talk to someone who has been through a similar experience. I hope this helps answer your question. Good luck :)