A radiologist can sometimes tell if a mass is cancerous although they will usually also need to do a biopsy if they suspect the mass is cancerous.
Imaging cannot fully diagnose the mass as cancerous and further tests such as a biopsy will be most often needed to confirm cancer.
A radiologist will not tell you if something is wrong based on the images.
However if the radiologist does notices something on the scan that requires emergency medical treatment then they will get you that treatment right away.
Your doctor will get the CT scan results within 24 hours of the scan.
Just like with biopsy results and other test results you won't usually get the results right away.
Radiologists are medical doctors that specialize in diagnosing and treating injuries and diseases using medical imaging (radiology) procedures (exams/tests) such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound.
Imaging tests can find large groups of cancer cells, but no imaging test can show a single cancer cell or even a few.
In fact, it takes millions of cells to make a tumor big enough to show up on an imaging test.
This is why treatment may continue even when cancer cells can no longer be seen on an imaging test.
Your test needs to be read by a diagnostic radiologist, and the results go back to your physician.
Your physician reads the report and then discusses it with you.
The biggest reason for that policy is that only a medical doctor has the training and experience to make a diagnosis.
Illnesses and conditions that can be detected and diagnosed using radiology include.
Fractures and infections. In most cases, fractures and infections in bones and teeth show up clearly on X-rays.
Arthritis. X-rays of the joints can show evidence of arthritis.
Dental decay. Dentists use X-rays to check for cavities in the teeth.
Osteoporosis.
Bone cancer.
X-ray is the oldest and most common diagnostic exam that is used to identify a wide range of diseases and injuries, including broken bones, infections, and some forms of cancer.
The swift transmission of diagnostic information is important to both patients and referring physicians.
The results from an MRI scan are typically interpreted within 24 hours, and the scans themselves are usually given immediately to the patient on a disc after the MRI is complete.