Would the NHS send a letter diagnosing cancer?

[em2001ily]

So if tests were done and the test results indicated that cancer is likely present, would the NHS letter actually state that, or would it just say 'make an appointment'?

I am asking this on behalf of a friend.

Thank you.

its true of the trust and department I work for. I’m sorry you had a different experience that must have been a shock for you.

My mum went in for an MRI and they found something in her abdomen ( scan wasn’t even for abdomen problems ) this was in December , NHS followed it up with a letter got saying they couldn’t rule out cancer and needed further test done
Nearly in April and still waiting on the DR letting us know what they have found

Four months with no contact from the NHS at all? Maybe you/your mum could call the GP and ask when you can expect to hear back. Hope all is ok.

@em2001ily

had camera down her and told results inconclusive
given she is 70 didn’t want her to through that again so opted for blood tests
told results take 2-3 weeks then it was 4-6
blaming the tests had to be sent to London 5 (we are in Scotland )
Keep getting fobbed off hopefully no news is good news

@131104E I hope no news is good news too. 6 weeks is a long time to wait for ruling out cancer.

We had a copy of a referral from our daughters Denist to ENT saying they found a mass on X Ray that they had failed to notice in x Ray 2 years earlier (Covid times) and it had grown and they needed to see her on 2 week pathway. No call, they didn’t tell us at all. Was a huge shock.

Aren't discharge notes for when you're being signed off from care? How did you end up seeing them?

I hope your Dh is on the right track.

That's rough. I hope your daughter will be ok.

Different trusts in different areas of the country might work differently. Our local GP surgery says that test results from a hospital will be sent directly to a GP and the patient at the same time, but I don't know whether or not results which require further investigation are also accompanied by a phone call from the doctor before the letter.

My friend's letter said towards the bottom, '.....contact Macmillan...', which made me feel worried for her. But it could just be that she's undergoing tests, and the doctors are just signposting Macmillan as a means of support if she's worried during any tests.

She'll tell me about it in her own time. I just hope it isn't anything too sinister.

@em2001ily dh died 11 days after being discharged, 11 days after first admittance. Discharged from hospital means you are being sent home from the ward. Discharge notes contain information regarding further care, prescriptions etc as well as diagnosis. Do contain the information that he had oesophageal cancer that it had spread and he had two pulmonary embolisms in situ - something we were not told of on the ward, despite asking the consultant and his team daily. We were only told they suspected cancer, and that he had one, resolved embolism in his right lung.
To say I was furious is an understatement. Yes, a complaint was made which was backed up by our Gp with a complaint regarding dh care whilst in hospital and regarding his discharge fiasco. Absolutely nothing changed or came of it, not even a simple ‘sorry’. 9months later, the trust is still doing the exact same thing re cancer care. My best friends husband is now dealing with the same appalling standard of care, fortunately he is still with us.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 That is disgusting and I am so sorry you had to go through that. You probably could sue the NHS trust who treated your DH, but I'm not sure how you'd go about it.

Sending hugs.

My consultant was pretty confident he would be calling me with my results, that’s how in-concerned he was. I’ve now had a phone call to arrange a face to face appointment.
I categorically asked for more information over the phone and was told no. I also asked if my letter would advise anything, I was told no.

Given this, I would expect anything in a letter without a prior conversation to be a huge oversight.

I'm sure I've got the wrong end of the stick, but it's sounding less like you're posting for a friend, and more like you caught sight of a letter that your friend didn't choose to discuss with you, and you're trying to find information about how likely it is that your friend has a health condition. I'm sure I've got that wrong.

@AlwaysALargeSauvignonBlanc I hope your results are ok, if you'll be treated as soon as possible. Fingers crossed for you.

What my friend received was the routine mammogram results letter, which asked her to go back for further tests but hasn't said why. She has since called me and told me that the tests came back all clear. So it's a relief!

@SardinesOnGingerbread
.... you caught sight of a letter that your friend didn't choose to discuss with you, and you're trying to find information about how likely it is that your friend has a health condition.

Yes I did catch sight of a letter (I didn't choose to snoop, I just saw it), and I was worried about her, but didn't want to ask. She has since spoken to me and told me that she went for tests, but that everything is fine, so that's a huge relief.

With govt being so obsessed with digital there have been multiple times when patients have found out that they have cancer via the nhs app.

I've seen a few posts online saying this and I honestly think it's shocking.... the psychological impact of finding out you have cancer is real, I don't think an app notification is appropriate at all.

Yes. Clinicians are screaming at government to slow down because of this, but they aren't listening. There is also the issue of the diagnosis not necessarily appearing, but someone getting e.g. notification of an appointment with the 'breast cancer specialist nurse' before they have had the diagnosis.

Is it not normal for a letter to be sent, notifying a patient of an appointment, before a diagnosis? But you're right, if you received a letter/app message that mentioned 'cancer specialist nurse', you'd assume that it was cancer....Unless you were referred to a nurse during the testing stage. I've heard that can happen.

It would be 'breast clinic' before diagnosis, not 'breast cancer clinic'

or 'colorectal clinic' not 'bowel cancer clinic' etc

Yes you're right. Although would some patients not meet with specialist nurses during the testing process as well, to discuss the tests themselves?

Am I the only person in the world who would much, much rather receive bad news in a letter or email ? A letter I could open when I was alone, digest the news and only think about myself for a bit before I had to face anyone else. Receiving such bad news in public (ie in a room with a couple of strangers) would be absolutely the worse possible way it could be delivered.

Well, maybe it would be worse I had to be told live on TV or something. Why can't this news just be given in private if that's what you want? Why do you have to be forced to be 'on show' for something like that ?

I thought similar to that until I had the news given, and having an expert in front of you right then, is quite comforting, whether that’s them telling you or asking questions, being able to do that, that very second, took a lot of the anxiousness away I think I’d have had if I’d gotten it and had to digest alone.

I'm sorry, and I'm really not trying to minimise, but we have to get away from the psychological impact of >>let's whisper - the big C or cancer<<.

Cancer is a serious disease that can kill. Many, many cancers can now be managed into remission. Not all cancers are a death sentence. Heart disease is a serious disease that can kill; alzheimers does kill if the patient doesn't die from something else first.

I would want to know before the meeting so I could prepare my questions and go in with notes. If I were being screened for pancreatic cancer rather than, for example, breast or bowel cancer I think I'd have more than an inkling that the former bodes far worse than the latter.

One in four people get cancer. The older we get the higher the chance. We have to be realistic.

@Kendodd Am I the only person in the world who would much, much rather receive bad news in a letter or email ?

I think what you said is understandable, I'm sure you aren't the only person. I think doctors like to give the news in person to make sure that the patient fully understands, and that any questions can be answered there and then.

I think some people have found out from the NHS app apparently, although I think that was a mistake...