Blood tests
Some of our blood tests need to be done at specialist laboratories in London and elsewhere. Sometimes these can take a few days and in some cases weeks to come back. You will be advised if this is the case.
Bone Marrow aspirate and biopsy
Bone Marrow biopsy patient information leaflet
X-rays, CT Scans, PET-CT and MRI's
Visit our Radiology section for more information about X-rays, CT scans, PET-CT's and MRI's
Tissue / lymph node biopsy
Usually, a biopsy is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of lymphoma and categorise the type of lymphoma. A biopsy is the removal of a small sample of tissue – usually from a lymph node, but sometimes from an organ or where there is abnormal tissue growth which is thought likely to be a cancer.
Types of biopsy include:
- Excisional biopsy – where a whole lymph node is removed – this is a minor operation and may be under either local or general anaesthetic, depending on where the lymph node is.
- Incisional Biopsy - as above, but only part of the node or mass is removed
- Core Biopsy – this is usually done with the guidance of ultrasound or CT, and a sampling needle is used to remove some of the tissue. This may require a few hours in the hospital, but not an overnight stay. Sometimes, a core biopsy doesn’t give enough information to make the diagnosis, and a surgical biopsy is needed.
Biopsy results take 1-2 weeks to be fully reported.
