Hello ryan92 and thanks for posting,

I am sorry to learn about your family member's diagnosis and can appreciate that this is a difficult time.

I don't think it is unusual to be told you have a diagnosis of cancer before all the necessary scans have been done to assess the clinical stage of the disease. Reaching a diagnosis and establishing the stage of a cancer can involve a number of tests so it can take a while to establish what the situation is. Doctors have to be honest about what is going on and explain why more tests are needed.  

Once the doctors have all the information they need, the multidisciplinary team (MDT) reviews everything to decide on the best course of action. MDTs are made up of specialist doctors from different disciplines and other healthcare professionals who all have expertise in a particular disease. MDTs usually meet once every week on a regular day.  

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer can be a shock and waiting to find out what sort of treatment might be possible is inevitably a stressful time. The wait can be a time to start to process the diagnosis mentally so when someone's situation and treatment is explained, it might be a bit easier to take it all in. But there is still often a lot of information to absorb which is why patients are often encouraged to have a relative accompany them to be a second pair of ears. There are also cancer specialist nurse roles in the NHS. These nurses work within the MDTs and are there to support patients, it is possible that one might be allocated to your family member. 

Please give us a call if you want to talk anything over. Our number is  Freephone 0808 800 4040 and we are around 9-5, weekdays,

Wishing you the best,

Julia