Diagnostics
In-depth laboratory testing in Los Cabos
Blood work and lab tests chosen by a physician from your history, not a random mega-panel. Coordinated at top-level private hospital facilities in Los Cabos, with results in English, the laboratory's reference ranges, and a physician who explains what they mean.
Start a confidential caseLab tests as part of diagnosis first
More tests do not automatically mean more answers. A long panel ordered without a reason can produce borderline results that lead to worry and repeat testing without changing any decision. Whether you are staying in Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo, or along the corridor, the order of steps is the same:
- You share your history, current medications, and any prior results
- A physician selects the tests that answer your questions and fit your risk
- You receive preparation instructions, including whether to fast
- Samples are drawn and processed through top-level private hospital facilities in Los Cabos
- Results come back with the laboratory's reference ranges
- A physician interprets them alongside your history, exam, and any imaging, and you receive a written next step
If a test would not change a decision, we do not add it just to make a panel look bigger.
What a comprehensive workup can include
Common categories in an adult diagnostic workup are below. A physician decides which ones you need. Not everyone needs every test.
- Complete blood count (CBC): red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Often part of a routine checkup, and used to look for problems such as anemia or infection.
- Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP): blood glucose, electrolytes, proteins, and markers of liver and kidney health, including blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine.
- Lipid panel (cholesterol and triglycerides): information about your risk of heart disease.
- Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c): your average blood glucose over the past two to three months, used to check for prediabetes and diabetes or to monitor diabetes.
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH): shows how well your thyroid is working.
- Liver and kidney function tests: more detail when the history or the metabolic panel points that way.
- Urinalysis: a physical, chemical, and microscopic examination of urine.
- Where indicated: hormone panels or tumor markers, ordered only when a physician has a specific reason (see the next section).
Tumor markers: an honest note
Tumor markers are substances, often proteins, that cancer cells or the body can produce in response to cancer, and also in response to some noncancerous conditions. They have real uses: helping to diagnose cancer together with other tests, checking whether treatment is working, and checking whether cancer has returned after treatment.
They are generally not good screening tests for people without symptoms:
- What the National Cancer Institute (NCI) says: studies of circulating tumor markers for screening have generally found that they do not work well for screening. They can miss people who have cancer (not sensitive enough), or suggest cancer in people who do not have it (not specific enough). An elevated tumor marker does not mean that someone has cancer.
- What the American Cancer Society (ACS) says: some biomarkers can help find cancer, but most often a biopsy is needed to know for sure. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is one marker that can help screen for prostate cancer, especially in older men without symptoms. Whether to have it is a conversation to have with your physician.
What this means at One Stop Cabo Health: tumor markers are ordered only when a physician has a specific reason, never as a reassurance panel. A “normal” marker does not rule cancer out, and an abnormal one is a starting point for more evaluation, not a diagnosis.
Fasting and preparation
- Fasting: if your physician asks you to fast, that means nothing to eat or drink except plain water, usually for 8 to 12 hours. Also avoid chewing gum, smoking, and exercise during the fast. Not every test needs fasting. For example, a complete blood count usually does not, but a cholesterol test or a metabolic panel may. That is why draws are often scheduled in the morning.
- Medications and supplements: tell us everything you take, including over-the-counter medicines and supplements. Some can affect results. Do not stop any medicine unless your physician tells you to.
- Other things that can affect results: hard exercise before the test, certain foods and drinks, a menstrual period, and not following the preparation instructions.
- Travel days: we schedule your draw so fasting does not collide with a flight, and your concierge arranges the transfer.
Your results in English, with reference ranges
A number on a lab report means little without its reference range. That is the range of results considered normal for a healthy test group at that laboratory.
- What we request: your results in English, each with the laboratory's own reference range and units.
- Ranges vary by laboratory: you cannot compare a result against a range from another lab or from the internet.
- Outside the range is not automatically a problem: healthy people sometimes have results outside the range.
- Inside the range is not a guarantee of good health: this is why a physician interprets results in the context of your history and exam.
Sharing results with your doctor at home
- The full laboratory report: every result, reference range, and unit, so your doctor reads it exactly as issued.
- A written summary: what was tested, why, and what comes next.
- A note on comparisons: results from different laboratories are not directly comparable, and units can differ. When your doctor compares these results with past ones, they should use the reference ranges printed on this report.
If you are coming from Canada
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reports that 83% of Canadian adults had access to a regular health care provider in 2024. It also estimates that 5.7 million adults still do not have a primary health care provider.
- Who acts on the results: lab tests are only useful if a clinician reads them in context. In Los Cabos, a physician interprets your results before you leave. You take home the full report and a written summary for whoever follows your care at home.
- Bring what you have: prior results, especially if you want to track trends, plus your medication list.
- Private and self-paid: laboratory testing coordinated in Los Cabos is private care, paid by you. Ask your provincial plan and any private insurer about coverage before you travel. Coverage is never assumed. We provide itemized records on request.
If you are coming from the United States
- Cash-pay, in writing: laboratory testing coordinated in Los Cabos is private, self-paid care. Cost information for your specific plan is shared in writing before you commit. We are not an in-network billing office for US insurers. If your plan reimburses care abroad, that is between you and your insurer; we can provide itemized records.
- Physician-chosen, physician-interpreted: this is not a direct-to-consumer panel. A physician chooses the tests from your history and explains the results, so you are not left alone with a page of flags.
- Back home: your US physician receives the full report with reference ranges and units, plus a written summary.
Usually part of the executive health checkup
Most people have laboratory testing as part of the one-to-two-day executive health checkup, together with imaging when indicated and a comprehensive internist evaluation. You can also start with labs alone if that is what your question needs; say so when you write.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a doctor's order for lab tests in Los Cabos?+−
A physician chooses your tests. If you already have an order or prior results, send them. If you do not, describe your history and questions, and a physician selects the tests as part of your plan. We do not sell fixed mega-panels without a clinical reason.
Which blood tests are usually included?+−
It depends on your history. Common categories are a complete blood count (CBC), a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), a lipid (cholesterol) panel, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), liver and kidney function tests, and urinalysis. Hormone panels or tumor markers are added only when a physician has a specific reason.
Do I need to fast before blood work?+−
Only for some tests. If you are asked to fast, have nothing except plain water, usually for 8 to 12 hours, and avoid gum, smoking, and exercise. A complete blood count (CBC) usually needs no fasting, while a cholesterol test may. Keep taking your medicines unless your physician says otherwise.
Can a blood test screen me for cancer?+−
Generally not. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that tumor markers have generally not worked well for screening people without symptoms: they can miss cancer or suggest cancer that is not there. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is one marker that can help screen for prostate cancer, a choice to discuss with your physician. Tumor markers are ordered only for a specific reason.
Will I get my results in English with reference ranges?+−
Yes, that is what we request. Each result comes with the laboratory's own reference range and units, and a physician explains what the results mean for you. Reference ranges vary between laboratories, so a result should be read against the range on your own report.
Can my doctor at home use these results?+−
Yes. You receive the full laboratory report and a written summary to share. Because reference ranges and units can differ between laboratories, your doctor should compare results using the ranges printed on this report rather than ranges from a different lab.
Can I do lab tests without the full executive checkup?+−
Yes. Most people have laboratory testing inside the one-to-two-day executive health checkup, but you can start with labs alone if that answers your question. A physician still chooses the tests and interprets the results.
Related guides
This page is education and service information only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from a licensed physician. One Stop Cabo Health is a medical concierge and coordinator, not a hospital or laboratory. Laboratory testing and clinical care are provided by licensed professionals at top-level private hospital facilities in Los Cabos, under their own professional responsibility. Which tests are appropriate is decided by those clinicians. No outcome is guaranteed.
Sources
- 1. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Tumor Markers (fact sheet), reviewed December 7, 2023. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/diagnosis/tumor-markers-fact-sheet
- 2. American Cancer Society (ACS). Biomarker and Tumor Marker Tests. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/diagnosis-staging/tests/biomarker-tests.html
- 3. Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Most Canadians have a regular health care provider (Taking the Pulse, 2025). https://www.cihi.ca/en/taking-the-pulse-measuring-shared-priorities-for-canadian-health-care-2025/primary-health-care-2025/most-canadians-have-a-regular-health-care-provider
- 4. MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine). Complete Blood Count (CBC). https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/complete-blood-count-cbc/
- 5. MedlinePlus. Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP). https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/comprehensive-metabolic-panel-cmp/
- 6. MedlinePlus. Cholesterol Levels. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/cholesterol-levels/
- 7. MedlinePlus. Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) Test. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/hemoglobin-a1c-hba1c-test/
- 8. MedlinePlus. TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone) Test. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/tsh-thyroid-stimulating-hormone-test/
- 9. MedlinePlus. Liver Function Tests. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/liver-function-tests/
- 10. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Urinalysis. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003579.htm
- 11. MedlinePlus. Fasting for a Blood Test. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/fasting-for-a-blood-test/
- 12. MedlinePlus. How to Understand Your Lab Results. https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/how-to-understand-your-lab-results/
Ready for tests that answer your questions?
Tell us your history and what you want to know, and attach any prior results. One concierge replies, usually the same day.
Start a confidential casecontact@onestopcabohealth.com·Plaza Koral Center, Km 24.5, Los Cabos, B.C.S.