The doctor's … was that the patient was suffering from cancer.

Analyze the question: We need the word that best fits the sentence: "The doctor's _ was that the patient was suffering from cancer." The blank needs a noun meaning the doctor's conclusion about what illness the patient has.

Explain the concept: These four words are easy to confuse, so let's separate them:

• Prediction: a statement about what will happen in the future (e.g., a weather prediction).
• Prescription: a written order for medicine or treatment given by a doctor.
• Diagnosis: the identification of a disease or illness from its symptoms and tests.
• Analysis: a detailed examination of something's parts or structure. It is general and not specific to naming an illness.

Solution:

1. The sentence says the doctor concluded the patient was suffering from cancer. This is naming the illness.
2. Identifying an illness is exactly what a diagnosis is.
3. Checking the others: • Prediction would be about the future, not the patient's present condition. • Prescription would be about medicine, and "a prescription was that the patient was suffering from cancer" makes no sense. • Analysis is too general. A lab might do an analysis of blood, but the doctor's conclusion about the illness is a diagnosis.

Reading it back: "The doctor's diagnosis was that the patient was suffering from cancer." This is correct and natural.

Answer: C. diagnosis.

Tip: Link the three medical words to their jobs:

• Diagnosis = Discovering the disease.
• Prescription = Provides the pills.
• Prediction = Peeks into the future.

When you see "the doctor's ___ was that the patient had (a disease)," think diagnosis.