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Three weeks after MRI brain scan, told to make an urgent appointment with neurologist - can it take this long to hear when cancer?

Krisser
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Hello, new to the forum and like so many on here, feeling confused and scared.

As per subject line, exactly three weeks ago I had a brain MRI scan. I had read that a three week wait from results is normal, unless a tumour is suspected, in which case you can expect to be contacted much sooner.


And yet hear I am, three weeks to the day, and suddenly I get a call from neurology secretary saying I need an urgent appointment. Has anyone else experienced such a long wait following an MRI scan, only to be learn they have cancer?

Thanks in advance to all who are able to answer.

Parents
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    Krisser,

    It isn’t unusual for such results to take 3 weeks, regardless of whether the news is bad. We all wrongly try to second guess what long waits mean but in reality it is just a symptom of the service being over-stretched. The vast majority of initial tests and scans are negative because as little as a 5% chance of symptoms being cancer is enough to trigger a suspected cancer referral.

    Good luck with your results!

    Dave

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    Krisser,

    It isn’t unusual for such results to take 3 weeks, regardless of whether the news is bad. We all wrongly try to second guess what long waits mean but in reality it is just a symptom of the service being over-stretched. The vast majority of initial tests and scans are negative because as little as a 5% chance of symptoms being cancer is enough to trigger a suspected cancer referral.

    Good luck with your results!

    Dave

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