Waiting for biopsy results - been told it could take up to 3 months. How can this be?

After 3 weeks having biopsy from a large polyp found during a colonoscopy i decided to ring and see what was happening.  Was told no results as yet and are taking up to 3 months.   How can this be right?  I spoke to the consultants secretary and she put me through to the nurse s secretary.   How can they make you wait 3 months to see if the polyp was cancerous.  

  • I'm so sorry about how long you may be waiting for your biopsy results Tugs. This must be incredibly frustrating.

    Unfortunately some hospital departments, depending on what part of the UK you're in, are still contending with staff shortages and backlogs for various reasons so this may explain why the wait is so long but as you say, it really shouldn't be that way. 

    I hope you receive some support and advice from the community soon but if you'd like to discuss this further with one of our cancer nurses, they're available on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m. They will do all they can to answer your questions and address your concerns about the length of this wait.

    In the meantime, we're sending you all our support Tugs and we'll have our fingers crossed your results come back, with good news, much sooner than the 3 month timeframe you've been given.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator