Advice needed please

Hello N0508,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Megan, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

I can see you have joined the New to the Community forum and Bowel (colon and rectal) cancer forum and have been active in these. I do hope you have and will continue to find these communities warm and supportive.

I am sorry to hear that your mum has been diagnosed with bowel cancer but am glad to hear her treatment has been successful.

Ideally cancer teams prefer to give biopsy results in person as opposed to over the phone.

This can be because sometimes information good or bad can be difficult to explain or interpret over the phone.

Also, dependent on information provided, further supportive services that might be available in person may not be as easy to access as over the phone, such as speaking directly with a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) who is often present during these types of appointments.

In this instance I do not think it is unusual for your mum’s cancer team to have invited her back for the biopsy results face to face. As she has recently undergone surgical treatment, they would likely want to visibly see how she is recovering from the treatment she has received.

If biopsy results show that further treatment is recommended, they may wish to discuss this with her and give her information about the further treatment they are recommending.

Same can be said for follow up care. If no further treatment is recommended at this point, they may wish to discuss with her follow up and what to expect. As they would likely not see her for a period, for completeness of experience it is nice to have these conversations in person.

Although difficult to do, I would encourage you to remain open minded right now. It can be a challenge not to worry to excess during this time so I hope this information on how to ease worry when waiting for medical test results may be useful to both you and your mum.

In preparation for the appointment it might also help to look at our information on questions to ask your healthcare team.

I hope this information is useful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in contact by email, webchat or phone, if you need further information or support.

The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.

Best wishes, Megan

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

Ref MD/LJ