Imaging Exams

Doctors use imaging tests to make pictures (images) of the inside of your body. Imaging tests can be used in many ways, including to look for cancer, to find out how far it has spread, and to help determine if cancer treatment is working. A doctor, a certified technologist, or other health professional may do an imaging test. Depending on what is involved, the test may be done in a hospital, a special clinic or imaging center, or a doctor’s office. In larger medical centers, imaging tests are usually done in the radiology or nuclear medicine department (even though some types of tests do not involve high-energy radiation).

A radiologist is a specialist in imaging techniques. He or she is the person who usually reads (interprets) the image made during the test. The radiologist writes a report on the findings and sends the report to your doctor. A copy of the report will become part of your patient records. Your other doctors (oncologists, surgeons, etc.) may look at the images, too.