How are cancers diagnosed? When a doctor suspects that a patient may have cancer, they will order initial tests, depending on exactly what is suspected, in order to further investigate their concern. They will then refer their patient to the relevant specialty doctor. If a suspicious lesion is seen on a scan or other investigation, a tissue sample, also known as a biopsy, needs to be taken in order to see under the microscope whether the tissue is indeed cancerous. A team of clinicians involved in the care will meet and discuss the case - this is known as a multi-disciplinary meeting or MDT. MDTs often contain physicians, histopathologists (who look at biopsy samples to give a tissue diagnosis), radiologists (who look at scans to stage cancers), surgeons, oncologists and specialist nurses.