You will have ongoing tests to monitor your health and response to your treatment(s). These tests may include:

• Blood test can help determine how your body is responding to your treatment and that it is generally safe for ongoing treatment.

• Chest x-ray checks the health of your lungs and looks for any sign of lung disease.

• Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to make pictures of your organs and other structures in your body.

• Bone scan is used for patients whose cancer shows a possible risk of spreading to the bones based on the glands status.

• CT or CAT scan is a 3D scan that shows if your cancer has spread to your liver, lungs, brain or bone. It’s the most common test used to examine your major organs and is very helpful in measuring how well a treatment is working. This scan is usually done at regular intervals during a course of treatment for advanced stages of cancer.

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses magnetic forces and radiofrequency waves to make a 3D image of specific areas in your body (i.e., liver). It can be helpful in situations where the results from a CT scan are not entirely clear or when a very close look at one area (i.e., the brain) would be helpful.

• Positron emission tomography scan or PET scan uses radio-labelled glucose to identify cancer.

• Heart scans, echocardiograms or a multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan can determine the strength of your heart. This test is only done if you’re getting medications that can affect your heart.