Yes, it is very common for doctors to provide negative biopsy results over the phone. Depending on the nature of the biopsy, the doctor may call right away to provide a brief overview of the results or may opt to wait until the formal biopsy report is available and provide a more in-depth explanation.
For most biopsy procedures, results are generally available within a few days to one week to 10 days. Ask your provider when you should expect to get your results and how you will receive them.
Your GP, hospital consultant or practice nurse will give you your results and explain what they mean. A biopsy is sometimes inconclusive, which means it hasn't produced a definitive result. In this case, the biopsy may need to be repeated, or other tests may be required to confirm your diagnosis.
If you're deemed to be of sound mind, and you ask the question, then yes, they are legally obligated to disclose your medical data to you. That includes what they may or may not be testing you for.
If your pathologist suspects certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma, he or she might need to perform additional testing to determine the subtype. This process takes an additional 24 to 96 hours, depending on the complexity of the cancer. It can be agonizing to wait for biopsy results.
But for most cancer types, a cancer diagnosis isn't a diagnosis until a biopsy says it is — and everything that follows hinges on that biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure that collects a sample of tissue or cells from a suspicious area, mass or lymph node for examination and testing by a pathologist.
Other times, a biopsy can tell the doctor how aggressive a cancer appears to be and what the extent of the disease may be. This refers to a cancer's stage and grade. A biopsy can also explain what type of cancer cells are inside the tumor.
Fifty years ago, it was common practice to avoid revealing and discussing a diagnosis of cancer;1,2 however, since the late 1970s, that practice has changed. Physicians now routinely discuss cancer diagnoses, treatment options, and prognoses with patients.
What is a 'Two Week Wait' referral? A 'Two Week Wait' referral is a request from your General Practitioner (GP) to ask the hospital for an urgent appointment for you, because you have symptoms that might indicate that you have cancer.
So your doctor may start by asking about your personal and family medical history and doing a physical exam. They may order lab tests, imaging tests (scans), or other tests or procedures. You may also need a biopsy, which is often the only way to tell for sure if you have cancer.
Another important factor is whether there are cancer cells at the margins, or edges, of the biopsy sample. A “positive” or “involved” margin means there are cancer cells in the margin. This means that it is likely that cancerous cells are still in the body.
Positive or negative results take exactly as long to come through as each other. Inconclusive results can take longer.
Results of biopsies and scans take a bit of time. They need to be looked at by a specialist so that your medical team are clear on the diagnosis and can plan the best treatment for you. Don't be alarmed if it takes longer than expected to get the results back; there are many possible reasons for a delay.
In some situations, such as during surgery, the sample of cells may be examined immediately and results are available to your surgeon within minutes. But most often, the results of your biopsy are available in a few days. Some samples may need more time to be analyzed.
An urgent referral is one way that your doctor can refer you to hospital. It means that you have symptoms that could be due to cancer, although they are usually due to other conditions.
Waiting times. Accurately diagnosing cancer can take weeks or months. As cancer often develops slowly over several years, waiting for a few weeks will not usually impact on the effectiveness of treatment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced referral guidelines for suspected cancer.
Aside from leukemia, most cancers cannot be detected in routine blood work, such as a CBC test. However, specific blood tests are designed to identify tumor markers, which are chemicals and proteins that may be found in the blood in higher quantities than normal when cancer is present.
A complete blood count (CBC) is a common medical test that your doctor may recommend to monitor your health. In cancer care, this blood test can be used to help diagnose a cancer or monitor how cancer or its treatment is affecting your body.
Weight loss is common among people with cancer. It may be the first visible sign of the disease. In fact, 40% of people say they had unexplained weight loss when they were first diagnosed with cancer.
Systemic drug treatments, such as targeted therapy or chemotherapy, are common for stage 4 cancers. Often, a clinical trial may be an option, offering new treatments to help the patient fight stage 4 cancer.