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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.

  • Offline

    I had a neck mri scan and waited 2 weeks for my results when I called filled with anxiety I was told if they had found anything they would have called me sooner. Hope that helps 

  • Offline in reply to Sweetcheeks5

    Thanks for your reply. I happy for you that it turned out to be nothing to worry about.

    Thing is, in my case, I already know it must be something significant, as I was called to make an urgent appointment. I'm seeing the consultant neurologist on Monday (today is Thursday), just five days after receiving the call yesterday to make an urgent appointment.

    What has confused me is that, if its a tumour, then from what I understand the radiologists flag it up and you are contacted to make an appointment much sooner than three weeks after the MRI. And yet I got the call with just hours until the end of the day precisely three weeks later, just when I thought I could relax. I don't even have any symptoms.

    ANd yet here I am. So I guess my question is, has anyone else waited three weeks before being told to make an urgent appointment - and found out they have cancer. Or given that three weeks have passed, is it likely to be something else?

  • Offline in reply to Krisser

    Just got more information from the consultants secretary. Apparently she's been on holiday until a week ago, and so in fact it wasn't three weeks after she got the scan but one. Sadly, an consolation I took from thinking it wouldn't take 3 weeks to deliver devastating news has now gone... :-(

  • Offline in reply to Krisser

    The waiting is brutal I completely understand you through my waiting I had diagnosed myself with tonsil cancer and was convinced I had it, as I was put through cancer pathway and was going mad with worry. All I can say it try and take deep breathes and distract yourself I know that’s hard as I was constantly calling ENT secretary to ask if my mri results were back. We always think worst case scenario and sometimes it’s not too bad. Couple years ago I had blood test because of bleeding between me real cycle I got a call next day to make an urgent appointment with my Gp who had not only sent me for blood tests of cervical cancer but also a scan and when I spoke to him Turned out I was very low in iron and was on iron tablets for 3months. So sometimeS urgent doesn’t allows mean it’s a bad thing . 

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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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