The doctor will probably order a transvaginal ultrasound, which assesses the thickness of the lining of the womb (from which the cancer of the uterus arises). Other alternative imaging tests include MR (magnetic resonance) scanning. The critical test is the sampling of thissue from the lining wall of the womb and this can be done at the outpatient session by aspiration cytology (through the os – the portal leading through the cervix to the inside of the womb) or more definitively by dilatation and curettage (D+C). In the D+C procedure, the gynaecologist scrapes the lining of the womb out sand sends it for microscopic analysis.Separate sampling of the tissues of the cervical canal will allow the doctor to know if the disease is stage 2 (vide infra).
