Diagnosis of lung cancer will begin with your doctor asking about your medical history and giving you a physical examination. The doctor will probably refer you for some additional tests to help in the diagnosis, this will commonly include tests that provide an image or picture of your chest plus an examination of the phlegm that you cough-up. More details are given below:

Chest x-ray: a procedure in which the chest is briefly exposed to radiation to produce an image of the inside of the chest. 

Sputum cytology: sputum (phlegm) coughed up from the lungs is examined under a microscope to check for abnormal or cancerous cells. 

Bronchoscopy: procedure in which a tube with a tiny camera on the end is inserted through the nose or mouth into the lungs. The procedure provides a view of the airways of the lung and allows doctors to collect lung secretions and to take small tissue samples.

If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, your specialist may want to carry out some tests to find out if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. The results of these tests will help your doctor to decide which is the best type of treatment for you. These tests include a range of painless procedures where different pictures or ‘scans’ of your body are taken to identify areas that may have been affected by the cancer. In addition, the doctor may wish to examine a small sample of your body tissue or fluid in more detail (a biopsy). The most common procedures are listed below and are grouped into those that provide a visual image of your body and those that are undertaken to provide a small tissue sample.


Visual imaging procedures:

Chest CT (computer tomography) scan: a procedure in which a computer linked to an x-ray machine creates a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body. 

PET (positron emission tomography) scan:a scan which uses low-dose radioactive sugar to measure the activity of cells in different parts of the body. Areas of cancer are usually more active than surrounding tissue and take up more radioactive sugar and show up on a scan. 

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): a procedure in which a magnet linked to a computer is used to create pictures of areas inside the body. 

Radionuclide bone scan: a procedure in which a small amount of radioactive material is injected into a blood vessel. It travels through the blood stream and collects in the bones where it is detected by a scanner to produce images of bones.


Tissue sampling:

Lymph node biopsy: a surgical procedure in which lymph nodes (nodes which produce white blood cells that fight infections) are removed and examined under a microscope for signs of cancer cells. 

Mediastinoscopy: a procedure in which a needle is inserted into a small incision in the chest, to obtain a tissue sample from the lymph nodes near to the lungs, on the right side of the chest. 

Anterior mediastinotomy: a procedure in which a needle is inserted into a small incision in the chest, to obtain a tissue sample from the lymph nodes near to the lungs, on the left side of the chest. 

Thoracentesis: a procedure in which fluid is removed from the space between the lungs and the wall of the chest. 

Thoracoscopy: a procedure in which a tube with a tiny camera on the end is inserted through an incision in the chest wall, to examine the pleura (the membrane covers the lungs), the lungs, and the mediastinum (chest wall) and to obtain tissue for testing purposes.