Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
What you should leave a genetic result appointment with | CION Cancer Clinics
You should leave a genetic result session with four things: the full report, a plain-language summary, a plan for your own care and a named person to call. If a fault was found, you also need a letter for your relatives. This page is a checklist for the last few minutes of the appointment, so nothing important goes home only in your memory. At CION Cancer Clinics in Hyderabad, our oncologists review your family history with you and guide you to the right genetic counselling and testing.
NG
Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What should you have in your hand when you walk out?
- Which documents and answers should you ask for?
- What should you check in the last few minutes?
- What the words on your report mean
- What should you leave with, depending on the result?
- What this page cannot tell you
- Four things people assume after a result session
- Common questions about the end of a result session
The short answer
What should you have in your hand when you walk out?
You should leave a genetic result session with the report itself, a plain-language summary, a clear plan for your own care and a name to call. If a fault was found, you should also have a letter for your relatives. If any of these is missing, ask for it before you stand up.
Why paper matters more than memory
Result sessions are emotional. Most people remember the headline and very little else. A week later, a brother asks which gene it was and nobody is sure. A written copy stops the details being lost or changed as the news passes around the family, often by WhatsApp.
Why a plan matters more than the result
A result on its own does nothing. What changes your life is what happens next: which scans, which referrals, which relatives should be tested. You should know what the next step is, who arranges it and roughly when it happens, even if the honest answer is that nothing changes.
It is reasonable to ask the counsellor to write the next steps down in front of you before you leave.Your leaving checklist
Which documents and answers should you ask for?
Keep these together in one folder, with a photo of each on your phone.
The laboratory report
The full report, not just a verbal summary. It names the gene, the exact change found and how the laboratory classified it. Relatives will need these details for their own tests.
Check that it shows
- Your name spelled correctly
- The gene name and the exact variant
- The classification, such as pathogenic or uncertain
A plain-language summary
A clinic letter that says in ordinary words what the result means for you. It should be something you could show a family doctor in your district who has never seen a genetic report before.
A family letter
If a fault was found, a short letter explaining it to relatives and how they can be tested for the same fault. You can hand it over or send a photo of it to relatives who live elsewhere.
A plan and a named contact
What happens next for your own care, who arranges it, and a named person or clinic to call with questions. Ask how you will be told if the laboratory ever changes its view of your result.
If the result is uncertain, the plan should say that it does not change your care on its own.Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistBefore you stand up
What should you check in the last few minutes?
Say the result back in your own words
Tell the counsellor what you think the result means. If you have misunderstood anything, this is the moment it comes out. It is not a test of you. It is a check that they explained it well.
Ask what changes for you
Ask directly whether your treatment, your screening or your follow-up changes. Ask who will arrange any new scans or referrals, and whether you need to book them yourself.
Ask who else in the family is affected
Ask which relatives could be tested and in what order. Brothers, sisters and children usually come first. Ask whether the other side of the family matters too.
Confirm how you will be contacted
Check that the clinic has your correct phone number and a second contact. Results are sometimes reclassified years later, and the clinic can only reach you if the details are current.
On your report
What the words on your report mean
- Pathogenic
- The change is known to break the gene and raise cancer risk. This is what people mean by a gene fault.
- Likely pathogenic
- Strong evidence that the change is harmful. In practice it is usually managed in the same way as pathogenic.
- Variant of uncertain significance
- Often written as VUS. The laboratory found a change but does not yet know whether it matters. It should not guide your care on its own.
- Benign or likely benign
- A harmless difference. Many labs do not list these on the report at all.
- No variant detected
- No fault was found in the genes tested. It does not rule out every inherited cause.
- Reclassification
- When the laboratory changes its view of a variant as new evidence appears. It can move in either direction.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
By result type
What should you leave with, depending on the result?
If the result is
You should also leave with
A fault was found
A family letter, and referrals for screening or specialist advice
No fault was found
A note on whether your family history still calls for closer screening
An uncertain result
A clear statement that it does not change care, and how updates will reach you
The test could not be completed
A plan for a repeat sample, and who pays for it
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you what your own result means. What your specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the test. This page only helps you make sure you leave with everything you need to ask that question properly.
It cannot replace a missed session
Some laboratories send reports straight to patients, with no counsellor involved. If that happened to you, the checklist above will feel incomplete, because nobody was there to write the plan. Book a session with a genetic counsellor to go through it. Do not act on a report you have only read alone.
Who this does not apply to
If your test looked only at the tumour, it answers a different question about the cancer itself, not about your family. That kind of result is covered under targeted therapy. Most people reading this will never need a germline test at all.
If you left without something on this list, call the clinic and ask for it. It is a normal request.Commonly believed
Four things people assume after a result session
"The doctor told me the result, so I do not need the paper."
Relatives cannot be tested for your exact fault without the written details. A verbal summary passed through the family loses the one piece of information the next laboratory needs.
"A negative result means our family is in the clear."
It means no fault was found in the genes tested. If the family history is strong, closer screening may still be advised. Your summary should say which applies to you.
"An uncertain result is half positive."
It is not a positive result, and it should not lead to extra surgery or change your treatment. Most uncertain results that are later reviewed turn out to be harmless.
"Once I leave, the clinic is done with me."
Genetic results can be reviewed as science moves on. Knowing how the clinic will reach you, and when to check back, is part of a finished appointment.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about the end of a result session
Can I ask for the full laboratory report?
Yes. It is your result and you are entitled to a copy. Ask for the full report, not just a summary page. Keep the original safe and share photos or copies with relatives who need it for their own testing.
What if I was too upset to take anything in?
That is very common. Ask for a written summary and a follow-up call or second session a few days later. Most counsellors expect this and would rather go through it twice than have you leave confused.
Should I record the session on my phone?
Ask first. Many clinics are happy for you to record so you can listen again or play it to a spouse. If recording is not allowed, bring someone to take notes while you listen.
Who should I show the report to next?
Your oncologist, if you are being treated, and your family doctor. If a fault was found, close relatives who may want testing. Share it with care, because once it is forwarded you cannot control where it goes.
Do I need a family letter if no fault was found?
Usually not in the same form, because there is no exact fault for relatives to be tested for. Your summary may still advise relatives about screening based on the family history. Ask the counsellor whether anything should be passed on.
What does it mean if my result could be reclassified?
Laboratories review variants as new evidence appears. An uncertain result may later be called harmless, or rarely harmful. Ask whether the laboratory or the clinic will contact you, and keep your phone number up to date with them.
Can I get the summary in Telugu?
Ask. Even if the formal report stays in English, many counsellors will explain the key points in Telugu and help you write them down. A summary your parents can read themselves is worth asking for.
Who do I call if a question comes up later?
The named contact on your summary, ideally the counsellor who gave the result. If you do not have one, call the CION helpline and someone will direct you to the right person.
Your Specialists
Meet CION's oncologists. Bring your family history or genetic report to them.
Our medical oncologists see people with a strong family history of cancer, arrange genetic counselling and testing where it fits, and plan the checks that follow.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
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Sources
- MedlinePlus Genetics — What do the results of genetic tests mean?
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
- NHS — Predictive genetic tests for cancer risk genes
- Cancer Research UK — Inherited cancer genes and increased cancer risk
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
Post-test counselling: the result sessionWhat happens in the room when the result is givenYour family letter and what to do with itHow to use the letter that goes to relativesHow results are given: in person, by phone or in writingThe ways a result can reach you, and which is bestFollow-up after genetic counsellingWhat happens in the months after the result
Talk to us
Left your result session without a clear plan?
Tell us what your report says and what you were told. We will help you work out what is missing and arrange a session to go through it. One helpline serves every CION centre.