Gynecologic Cancer Diagnosis and Staging at UPMC in Central Pa.

Our physicians are expert at diagnosing and staging ovarian cancer, so you get the right treatment as soon as possible.

Diagnosing Your Cancer

Early and accurate diagnosis of gynecologic cancers is important. Our specialized pathologists and diagnostic radiologists offer each patient leading-edge technology and techniques, including:

• PET (positron emission tomography) scans
• High-resolution CT (computed tomography) scans
• Transvaginal ultrasound
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans

Biopsy/Surgical Staging

The doctor will remove cells from the tumor or area suspected to be cancerous and a pathologist will view them under a microscope. Tissue can be removed by:

• Minimally invasive laparoscopic with robotic surgery
• Radial traditional surgery
• Fine needle aspiration (FNA)

Our surgical oncologists are expert at minimally invasive surgical techniques used for diagnosing reproductive cancers.

Staging Your Cancer

Staging is a way of determining how much disease is in your body and where it has spread. This information is important because it helps your doctor decide the best type of treatment for you and the outlook for your recovery. The technique used for staging your cancer will depend on the type of cancer you have, however many gynecologic cancers are staged during surgery.

The staging of your cancer is described with a number from 0-4, with 0 being the least amount of disease and 4 being the most. Your oncologist will explain what your cancer staging means for your treatment plan and prognosis.

Contact Us

Need more information? Call:
West Shore: 717-221-5940
East Shore: 717-230-3026

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