• Cancer

    Living With Cancer: Understanding cancer blood tests and how they’re used

worried female patient talking with a female health care provider

Blood tests used in diagnosing cancer
If it's suspected that you have cancer, your health care provider may order certain blood tests or other laboratory tests, such as an analysis of your urine or a biopsy of a suspicious area, to guide the diagnosis. With the exception of blood cancers, blood tests generally can't confirm whether you have cancer, but they can provide clues about your condition. Learn more about cancer blood tests and how they're used.

Video: 'Need to Relax? Take a Break for Meditation'
Meditation is a state of deep concentration during which you focus your mind on one image, sound or idea, such as a positive thought. When meditating, you also might perform deep breathing or relaxation exercises. Meditation may help people with cancer by relieving anxiety and stress. Take a few minutes for yourself with this soothing guided meditation video.

Colon cancer screening: At what age can you stop?
People over 75 who have been getting regular colon cancer screening since age 50 and who have had consistently negative screenings — no polyps or colon cancer, and who are not at an increased risk of colon cancer because of family history, may not need to continue getting routine screening. Learn more from Dr. Michael Picco, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.