What happens after a cancer diagnosis?
Why more tests may be needed after diagnosis, how a treatment plan is discussed and what to ask at the next appointment.
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Understanding a cancer diagnosis and treatment plan
A practical route through stage, grade, prognosis, performance status, MDT discussion and the factors that shape a treatment recommendation.
A cancer diagnosis is rarely described by one word. The type of cancer, its stage and grade, test results, general health and personal priorities can all affect the plan.
These articles explain the terms used in appointments and show how clinical recommendations are formed without trying to predict an individual treatment decision.
Understanding the diagnosis
What is a biopsy, and why might I need one?
How a tissue sample helps identify cancer, why scans may not answer the same question and what to check before and after a biopsy.
What does a cancer pathology report tell us?
A plain-language guide to cancer type, grade, margins, lymph nodes and biomarkers, and why a pathology report needs clinical interpretation.
Cancer stage and grade: what is the difference?
A clear explanation of what cancer stage and grade describe, why the systems vary, and why grade 4 does not automatically mean stage 4.
Localised, locally advanced and metastatic cancer: what is the difference?
What these terms say about cancer spread, why nearby lymph nodes differ from distant spread and why extent alone does not decide treatment.
What does prognosis mean in cancer, and why is it uncertain?
What a cancer prognosis can and cannot tell you, how population statistics differ from an individual outcome, and why estimates may change.
Discussing a treatment plan
Treatment decisions
Understanding treatment
What does performance status mean in cancer care?
What ECOG or WHO performance status means, how the 0–4 scale describes daily function, and why it is only one part of a cancer treatment decision.
What happens at a cancer MDT meeting?
How a UK cancer multidisciplinary team reviews results, who may take part, and what happens before a treatment decision is agreed with the patient.
Why can two people with the same cancer have different treatment?
How cancer type, stage, grade, biomarkers, previous treatment, health, treatment aim and patient priorities shape an individual plan.
Treatment decisions
Understanding treatment
What does informed consent mean in cancer treatment?
Why consent is a discussion rather than just a signature, what should be explained and what to do if a treatment decision is unclear.
Treatment decisions
Understanding treatment
Should I ask for a second opinion about cancer treatment?
What a second opinion can clarify, how to request one in the UK and why treatment timing and transfer of records need discussion.
Understanding treatment options
Treatment decisions
Understanding treatment
Chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy: how do they differ?
How common cancer drug treatments work, why the treatment name does not tell you its aim and why side effects differ.
Radiotherapy
Understanding treatment
What is radiotherapy and how does it work?
How radiotherapy damages cancer cells, why treatment is carefully planned and image guided, and why dose and number of visits differ between patients.
Treatment decisions
Understanding treatment
Should I consider a cancer clinical trial?
What a clinical trial can offer, what remains uncertain, how eligibility works and which questions to ask before deciding.
Treatment decisions
Understanding treatment
Why might cancer treatment be delayed, paused or adjusted?
Why blood results, side effects and other changes can alter a treatment schedule, and what to ask when a planned appointment changes.
Specialist explanations
Primary and secondary liver cancer: why the distinction matters
Why cancer starting in the liver differs from cancer spreading there, and how tumour type, extent and liver function shape the treatment discussion.
Oesophageal cancer: understanding the diagnosis and treatment plan
An introduction to cancer of the food pipe, the information used to plan treatment and why swallowing and nutrition need attention.
Pancreatic cancer
Treatment decisions
Operable, borderline and locally advanced pancreatic cancer explained
What pancreatic cancer resectability terms broadly mean, why nearby blood vessels matter, and why specialist MDT assessment is essential.
Neuroendocrine tumours
Understanding diagnosis
What is a neuroendocrine tumour?
An introduction to neuroendocrine tumours, where they arise, how NETs differ from neuroendocrine carcinomas and why the primary site and grade matter.
Neuroendocrine tumours
Understanding diagnosis
NET grade, stage and Ki-67: what do they mean?
How differentiation, grade, Ki-67 and stage describe different features of a neuroendocrine tumour, and why the primary site matters.
These articles provide general information. Your clinical team can explain what applies to your own situation.