Hi , I've been told I can't have a biopsy as it's too risky to my health ....how would the doctors find out my staging of cancer ? I've been referred to the MDT team
What a difficult situation to be in. Usually a biopsy is done to find out the exact type of cancer rather than its stage. Stage means the size of the cancer and whether or not it has spread which can often be found out by scans. But a biopsy is often necessary to try and find out exactly what sort of cancer it is.
If a biopsy cannot be done, sometimes because of the position of the tumour and the part of the body it is in the doctors can get enough information to make a judgement on what type of cancer it is or is likely to be.
It is good to read that your case is being referred to the Multi Disciplinary Team. This will mean a range of specialists can put their heads together to see what the best course of action is to help you.
