Results

Good evening Anthony5 ,

my OH was told over the phone and we were a bit perturbed about the whole insensitive manner. 

Your GP might be able to access your results during a consultation . As ours was able to tell us initially that his bone scan was clear . Might be worth an ask . then you are prepared with a list of questions you need answered .

It might be worth having someone with you during the phone consultation both for support and to have an extra ear . 

Best Wishes & keep in touch 

Liz & OH xx

Liz & OH, Thank you for your reply. Good idea about the GP. My plan is to put my phone on speaker, with my wife beside me. Thanks again.

Hi Anthony5

I think that your plan is a good one, and the best that you can do, given the circumstances.

I received my initial cancer diagnosis over the phone, following routine lab analysis of removed tissue after a procedure for BPH.  Although due to my age (69 at time) and PSA level, the element of surprise was limited, and the diagnosis thankfully was relatively 'mild'.  

I hope that you have the best possible outcome.  The wait must have been, and doubtless continues to be, difficult for you.  

Kind regards, Peroni. 

Peroni, thank you so much. Sometimes when I post queries like this, and then look at other posts, I feel so stupid and guilty. Thank you again for your kind words.

Tony

Hi Anthony5,

I received my biopsy results by phone which I actually preferred as it saved a trip to the hospital & all the hanging around that can entail.  I was able to keep myself busy beforehand & kept my mobile handy for the call so I didn't miss it.  Putting the call on speakerphone enabled my husband to listen in & join in the conversation & between us we picked up on all the points covered which we discussed afterwards.  We were advised of the possible treatment options available on the call as a heads up, so then had time to read up & do some research on them plus prepare all our questions ahead of a face to face meeting to discuss these in more detail. 

I fully appreciate that many people prefer having a face to face appointment, so personally think it would be better patient care to give people a choice.  I note that you refer to the consultants secretary saying they generally give results by phone which would seem to indicate that in some circumstances they also give them face to face (possibly where someone is deaf / hard of hearing so lip reads as an example).   

Best Wishes 

Brian

Brian, thank you so much. I have got myself set now for the phone call, and as you stated, putting it on speaker is a good idea. Thanks again for your help.

Hi Anthony5,

if you have the NHS app, have a look there. I found my MRI and CT and bone scan results there before any phone calls. All my results were by NHS app then phone except the biopsy results which were the actual diagnosis including Gleason score etc. That was face to face with the head specialist nurse at hospital - I can’t say if telephone or f2f would have been better, BUT your plan of speaker and have your wife with you is definitely the right way to go. My wife was with me and managed to remember and ask all the questions we had prepared before hand when my brain went to fog after hearing the words “Gleason 5+4”. Whatever the words are, positive or negative, a second pair of ears and set of thoughts will be invaluable.

Wishing you all the best and good luck with your results. The waiting times are always dreadful and always seem to drag, but keep positive if you can! And I can definitely say that being here has been a massive help for me, the folks here are fantastic!

Fzh2pO, thank you for your kind words, and advice. I’ll check to see if the NHS app is available in NI.

Hello Anthony5 

As far as I am aware it’s England only and not every Health Authority uses it here.

If you are in England and have downloaded it, you still need to ask your GP practice for “Full Access”.

Some hospital trusts and GP’s use their own system such as “My Chart”.

So much for a “National” Health Service.

Best wishes - Brian.

Very true. I have both NHS and MyChart. All my scans were in the local area and used the NHS app and were connected to all my GP information. Addenbrookes where I had surgery uses MyChart, so my GP can’t see those results. All a bit annoying.