As only a handful of cancers can be detected through early screening, it is generally diagnosed after a symptomatic patient visits his or her general practitioner, or GP. If that physician feels there is a chance that the symptoms are caused by cancer, he or she may order a number of diagnostic tests, including biopsies, laboratory tests, genomic tests, or imaging tests such as x-rays, MRIs, or PET scans, depending on the type of cancer in question.
