Biopsy Results still not back - how long are people waiting?

Hi all

Brief introduction... I'm a 44 year old female and I found a lump on my upper arm in July 2024.  First scan in July 2024 they thought it was a lipoma (fatty tissue) but said if it grows see someone.  It grew so on 5 March 2025 I had another ultrasound which confirmed it was a tumor and  definitely not a cyst or lipoma (fatty lump and I had an urgent referral to the sarcoma clinic (soft tissue cancer for those that aren't aware).

On 4 April I had a wide excision biopsy - in essence they removed the tumor and sent it for histology.  This was all done privately via Bupa thanks to my cover via my employer.  I was told results would be 2-3 weeks so was due to see my consultant on 22 April. 

I emailed his secretary that morning who replied confirming results were in.  He then rang a couple of hours later to say he had spoken to pathology and they wanted to run more tests.  Disappointed but rearranged my appointment for 30 April (today). 

Yesterday (29 April) I got another call from my consultants secretary to say results were still not back as pathology still had more tests to finalise after the initial ones.  He wouldn't book me an appointment as he said he had pushed them but they wouldn't give him a timeline for when they would be back. 

Now I am sat still unclear with no idea of whether this is going to be weeks or months.  Everything is racing through my mind - does this mean its bad news? Surely if it was nothing they wouldn't need more tests? And now I've started o think what if they have lost or damaged m saple - and its the only one as I had a wide excision biopsy so it was the whole of the tumor and if that's the case what would happen then?

Sorry for the rant... how long are people's biopsy results taking?  i know I went private which I thought would speed it up but NHS says 2-3 weeks but it will be 4 weeks on Friday and no answer as to even a timescale when they'll be back which seems seem off to me.

Thanks for listening

Jen :-)

  • Hi

    Last August I had a tumour removed from my liver, it took nearly 9 weeks for me to get the pathology results which came back as benign.  It was very hard waiting, but I reassured myself that at least the whole of the tumour had been removed, I wasnt waiting for biopsy results whilst it was still growing inside of me!  Yes, if it was malignant I would have to have treatment, but that wouldnt have started until I had recovered from major surgery anyway. 

    I hope you get your results soon and fingers crossed it turns out to be benign.

    Annie

  • Hi Jen,

    This is always a worrying wait and times seem to vary significantly from one clinic to another. My hubby had a biopsy at the beginning of December and didn't get the results until 18th March. Unfortunately, this was a cancer. He too had his first results appointment cancelled and re-scheduled.

    Biopsies for skin complaints always seem to take longer than those for other types of cancer, so I hope that you'll hear something soon.

    Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you,

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Thank you so much for replying... although thats not great it does make me feel better that others have a long wait.  I thought going private may speed things up but I suppose it takes as long as it takes.

  • Thank you so much for reply... OMG that is such a long wait and to get a cancer diagnosis at the end seems crazy!  I do hope you and your husband are doing well... sending lots of love and luck your way x