How is Hodgkins disease diagnosed?
A. If Hodgkin’s disease is suspected, the doctor will ask about your medical history and will do a thorough physical exam. Blood tests and x-rays of the chest, bones, liver and spleen will also be done. Tissue from an enlarged lymph node will be removed. This is known as a biopsy. It is the only sure way to tell if cancer is present. A pathologist will look at the tissue under the microscope for Reed-Sternberg cells, abnormal cells that are usually found with Hodgkin’s disease. When Hodgkin’s disease is diagnosed, the doctor needs to know the stage, or extent, of the disease. Knowing the stage is very important for planning treatment. The stage indicates where the disease has spread and how much tissue is affected.
