Hi, the MDT are 99% sure my husband has metastic melanoma of the lung. 3 weeks ago he had a wedge resection of left lung to confirm the diagnosis and as I understand it to test to see what drugs it might respond to. I have phoned 3 different departments today to try to get the results but nothing. And they don't tell us why it's not available yet. Can anyone shed any light on this please? My husband is actually dealing with it better than me. I am finding it incredibly frustrating and difficult to concentrate on anything and feel like our lives are in limbo. Thanks
Hi Squeak and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
Waiting for the results of tests and biopsies can be a very stressful time. How quickly results are available depend on things like how busy the pathology laboratories in your area of the country are, whether the consultant has had chance to look at the results if they're back, when the MDT next has it's weekly meeting to decide on treatment, when the consultant next has an appointment slot to see your husband, etc, etc.
Was your husband given an idea of how quickly he should get his results, along with a contact phone number, when he had the biopsy? If so, and it's gone past that time, then he should be able to phone that number to find out what's happening.
Also has he been assigned a cancer nurse specialist (CNS), sometimes referred to as a key worker or Macmillan nurse, as they act as his point of contact at the hospital and should be able to give him an idea of when the results might be back. If he hasn't been assigned a CNS yet then if he phones his consultant's secretary, she should be able to give him the name of the CNS and their phone number.
As the online community is divided into different support forums I'm going to recommend that you join us over in the melanoma forum which is a great place to ask questions, share experiences and get support from others who have a similar diagnosis to your husband.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your husband's diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
