Hello and thanks for posting,

I am sorry to hear about your situation and appreciate what an anxious time this must be for you.

Unfortunately many people are waiting longer than usual for results to come back at the moment and it is impossible to know what the histology will show.

Hang in there for now but do call the hospital when you can to see if they know how much longer you may need to wait.

Wishing you all the best and do hope everything works out okay for you,

Take care,

Naomi

Positive and negative results take an equal amount of time to come through. Most of the processes are automated and the human focus is on delivering results as quickly as possible. 
Sadly there’s a national capacity crisis caused by too few biomedical scientists being trained to replace the ones retiring or quitting. 
Things are slower in some places than others.

Please be assured that any delays are general (the NHS is maxxed out) with no link to the content of your histology results. 

Good luck!

Dave

Thank you so much Dave & Naomi for replying- I’m still going slightly insane though as after 5 weeks - it just doesn’t feel real anymore……. When I saw one of the consultants on Thursday he said if id had just lung cancer, it would be simple….., 2-3 weeks and my full pathology report - but he has said due to the mediastinum he simply has no idea…….. I received a telephone consultation letter today for the 20th of July - that’s almost 7 weeks - how can this be even deemed humane??? I’m lucky as I have my husband and my very much beloved children - so I am clinging on for them - but what if I wasn’t???? I am in a very dark place, but thank god I have my family to help me through this…….. these delays are literally evil and if o didn’t have my beloved family - and the best friends since highschool- then I honestly don’t think I could cope…….. and the days I feel so low are truly horrendous……. Something has to happen here……

I’m sorry - but I had another concern behind my armpit - right - I worried lymph node, and that came back benign within 2 weeks end of February, before I realised I had this bloody primary tumor…….xx

I don’t know if you just got this - but I had another benign result come back within 2 weeks in March - so with everything considered since then- I think this will be a malignant STS or MPNST from stuff surgeons said pre op……. I’m not very optimistic on this now…… x

It all seems a bit random. 
Some tests normally take longer than others but staffing pressures tend to be the biggest factor. 
Last year I worked at a Trust where histology services quickly went from bad to worse because just one person quit and another went off sick. They’d been carrying a vacancy for over a year and couldn’t get a locum for love nor money. 
By coincidence, a friend was a patient there. His surgeon operated before his results came through. Not best practice but the safest option available. 
I know first hand the agony and frustration of waiting for results, all you can do is pester them and hope for the best … but your head is full of “what ifs”. 

I hope this gets resolved soon.

The “what ifs” are what driving me insane….. the tumour looked around 5cm widest from the MRI and given it’s location and MRI report it’s more suggestive if Malignancy - it showed avidly heterogeneo once the enhancement was injected - so they went straight for operation and it was bigger again at 6.5cm widest and they also cut out the safe margin of surrounding tissue. My operation was on the h of June, I received a letter on Saturday saying a telephone consultation with my Surgeon has been booked for the 20th of July - that will be almost 7 weeks after they removed the tumour and sent i for testing…….. I’m struggling now, and that’s another 10 days away…… is there anybody I can complain to? I’m literally crying all day whilst my children are in school - then pretending everything i fine when they get home - just a bit of pain from the op still if they catch me crying hiding in the kitchen…… to say my mental health is suffering is a huge understatement - need somebody to chase see if I can find out what is is……. My life is in limbo right now ……

I wish I could do something to help you.

You could ask your GP to chase it up on your behalf - or phone your consultant’s medical secretary, explain your situation and ask if your appointment could be brought forward. Failing that, you could ask your GP for something to take the edge off your understandably high levels of anxiety. 

Even if it was malign they’ve removed it which is good news.

Did they discuss a care plan with you? Typically after surgery they’d wait a few weeks before scanning again to decide with you on the next steps.
My understanding is that a chemo follow up isn’t possible until a couple of months after surgery anyway because chemo targets fast growing cells and can’t distinguish between cancer and cells growing back after surgery. 


Good luck!

Dave

Hello, and thanks for getting back to us again,

I am so sorry about all this uncertainty and how it is making you feel.

Dave has made some good suggestions.

You may find it helpful to contact your GP to let them know how you are feeling.

I can't say why the pathology is taking so long to get back but I do know that sometimes it is not as straightforward as it seems. 

You may also find it helpful to contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liason Service) at your hospital and ask them to look into it for you.  Have a look at their details here

I do hope you know more soon.

Try if you can to keep an open mind. I hope that you know more soon.

Do give us a ring if you want to talk this through.

Our helpline number is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the nurses are here Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

All the best,

Catherine