When will I know?
The clinician may explain the examination and imaging findings on the day. If tissue has been sampled, laboratory preparation and specialist pathology review take additional time. Ask your clinic for its expected timeframe and how you will be contacted.
Before leaving, confirm: which tests were completed, whether anything remains outstanding, your results appointment, and who to contact if you have not heard by the expected date.
The key question: do the findings match?
Your team compares the clinical impression, imaging assessment and pathology. If all are benign and concordant—and adequately explain the symptom—you may be reassured or offered planned follow-up. If any component is uncertain, suspicious or inconsistent, the team may recommend further imaging, repeat sampling or surgical biopsy.
An extra test does not automatically mean cancer. It often means the team is resolving uncertainty before giving you a confident answer.
Possible next steps
Reassurance
A benign, concordant finding may require no treatment, symptom management or routine follow-up.
More assessment
Indeterminate or discordant findings may need additional views, repeat biopsy or specialist review.
Treatment planning
If cancer or another condition requiring treatment is diagnosed, the team will explain the type, further staging if needed, and options.
When should I return?
Contact the clinic again if the original symptom persists without a satisfactory explanation, becomes larger or more obvious, or if a new symptom appears. A previous reassuring assessment applies to the finding assessed at that time; it should not prevent review of a later change.
After a biopsy: follow the wound instructions given by your own unit. Seek urgent advice for bleeding that does not stop with firm pressure, rapidly increasing swelling, spreading redness, fever, pus or severe worsening pain.