Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Carrying your genetic records from one centre to another | CION Cancer Clinics
Ask the first centre for the full genetic report, every page, along with the counselling letter and your family tree. Keep the originals at home and carry copies. With a complete report, a new centre can almost always use your existing result without testing you again. This page explains which papers matter, how to ask for them, and what a new team checks before relying on them. At CION Cancer Clinics in Hyderabad, our oncologists review your family history with you and guide you to the right genetic counselling and testing.
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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
- How do you move your genetic records to a new centre?
- Which papers should travel with you?
- How do you get your records from the first centre?
- Which details on the report must not be lost?
- What can a new centre do with what you bring?
- What this page cannot tell you
- Four things families tell us about records, and what is true
- Common questions about moving genetic records
The short answer
How do you move your genetic records to a new centre?
Ask the centre that ordered your test for the complete laboratory report and the letter your counsellor wrote. Take copies to the new team and keep the originals safe at home. An inherited result does not expire. If the report is complete, a new centre can usually rely on it without testing you again.
Why the full report matters
A genetic result is only as useful as its detail. The new team needs the exact gene, the exact change within it, and how the laboratory classified that change. A discharge summary that says "BRCA positive" is not enough to plan scans or to test a relative. That laboratory will ask for the exact variant, and usually for a copy of your report.
Why families move in the first place
Treatment finishes in Hyderabad and the checks move closer to home in Warangal or Nizamabad. An insurer changes its hospital list, or a daughter in Bengaluru starts her own screening. Each move is a point where a report can go missing, and a missing report often means a repeat test nobody needed.
You are entitled to a copy of your own medical records.What to collect
Which papers should travel with you?
Four documents do most of the work. If you collect only these, a new team can pick up where the last one stopped.
The full laboratory report
Every page, including the pages at the back that list the genes tested and the method used. Those pages tell a new team what was looked for, and therefore what was not.
Check that it shows
- The laboratory's name
- The date the report was signed
- The gene and the variant
- How the variant was classified
The counselling letter
The summary your genetic counsellor wrote after the result. It explains what the result means for your care, and often which relatives should be offered testing.
Your family tree
The drawing the counsellor made, showing who had cancer, what type, and roughly at what age. It saves a new team rebuilding it from memory, and shows why testing was offered at all.
Your surveillance record
The dates and results of every screening scan and scope since the result. For breast MRI, ask for the images as well as the written report, because the next radiologist compares against the old pictures.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistStep by step
How do you get your records from the first centre?
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Ask in writing
A written request to the medical records department is harder to lose than a spoken one. Name the documents you want and ask for complete copies.
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Ask the laboratory if the hospital cannot help
The laboratory that ran the test keeps its own copy of the report. Once it has confirmed who you are, it can often send a copy to you or to your new doctor.
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Collect scan images separately
Images are usually held by the radiology department, not the records office. Ask for a disc or a download link.
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Check every page before you leave
Look for the variant name, the classification and the laboratory's name. A missing back page is common and easy to fix while you are still at the counter.
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Hand copies to the new team
Give copies, not originals. Ask the new team to add them to your file, and ask who there will now be told if the result is ever updated.
On your report
Which details on the report must not be lost?
- Gene
- The name of the instruction that carries the fault, such as BRCA2 or MLH1. On its own it is not enough.
- Variant
- The exact spelling change within the gene, written in a short code. This code is what a relative's test looks for.
- Classification
- How the laboratory judged the change. Pathogenic means known to cause harm. The other grades run from likely pathogenic through uncertain to benign.
- Heterozygous
- The change is on one of your two copies of the gene. This is what most inherited cancer reports say.
- Method
- How the testing was done. Some methods can miss a missing or doubled piece of a gene, which a new team may want to check.
- Report date
- When the laboratory signed the report. Classifications can change as evidence grows, so the date shows how current it is.
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Side by side
What can a new centre do with what you bring?
You bring the full report
You bring a summary or a photo
Your result is usually accepted without a new test
A repeat test may be needed to confirm the details
Relatives can be tested for the exact variant
Relatives may be offered a wider, costlier test
Surveillance is planned from the gene itself
Scans are planned from family history until it is confirmed
An uncertain result can be checked for updates
Nobody can tell whether it has been reclassified
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you what your result means. What your specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the test, or for a genetic counsellor at your new centre with the full report in front of them. Moving centres is a good moment to ask for that review.
Whether your old test is still good enough
Most reports stay valid for life. A few older tests looked at fewer genes, or used methods that could miss certain changes. Only someone who reads the method pages can say whether a newer test would add anything. Often it would not.
Who this does not apply to
If your test was done on tumour tissue to guide treatment, that is a different report about the cancer itself. It belongs in your oncology file and is explained on our targeted therapy pages. If nobody in your family has had an inherited gene test, there are no genetic records to carry yet.
Keep one complete set of copies in a single folder at home, and tell one other family member where it is.Commonly believed
Four things families tell us about records, and what is true
"A photo of the first page on WhatsApp is enough."
The first page usually shows the headline result. The pages that say which genes were tested, and how, are often at the back. A new team needs both, and a blurred photo can make the variant code impossible to read.
"A new hospital will make me repeat the test anyway."
Not if the report is complete and comes from an accredited clinical laboratory. Most centres accept an earlier inherited result. A repeat is usually suggested only when details are missing, or the old method could have missed something.
"The hospital owns my file, so I cannot have a copy."
The hospital keeps the original file, but you are entitled to a copy of your own records. Ask in writing and be patient with the records office. It is a routine request, not a favour.
"Once a result is issued, it never changes."
Laboratories sometimes reclassify a variant as evidence grows, most often one that was marked uncertain. The update usually goes to the doctor who ordered the test. After a move, make sure someone at your new centre knows to look out for it.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about moving genetic records
Do I need to repeat my genetic test at a new hospital?
Usually not. An inherited result stays the same for life, because the fault is in every cell from birth. With the complete report from a recognised laboratory, the new team can normally rely on it. They may suggest an extra test only if the old one left out genes or methods that matter for your family.
Is a photo of the report on my phone good enough?
It is a useful backup, not a substitute. Photos often miss pages and blur the variant code. Ask for a proper copy, on paper or as the laboratory's own file. If a photo is all you have, the new team can often use it to trace the original report from the laboratory.
What if my first hospital cannot find my report?
Go to the laboratory that ran the test. Laboratories keep their reports and can usually reissue one once they have confirmed your identity, sometimes only to a doctor. If you do not know which laboratory it was, an old bill, a sample receipt or the counsellor's letter often names it.
Can my brother use my report to get tested?
Yes, and he should take a copy with him. A laboratory testing him for a fault already found in the family will ask for your report, so that it looks for exactly the same change. This is usually quicker and cheaper than a full panel. You decide who receives a copy.
Should I hand over my original papers?
No. Keep the originals at home and hand over copies. Hospitals scan what you give them and may not return paper. Keep your copies in one folder, in date order, with the gene report on top. Tell one trusted relative where the folder is, in case they need it.
Who will tell me if my result changes after I move?
Usually the laboratory tells the doctor who ordered the test. If you have moved, that message can stop at a desk nobody reads. Ask your new team to note the laboratory's name. Ask the laboratory too whether it can record your new doctor's details.
Is it safe to send my report on WhatsApp?
It is convenient, and many hospitals accept it, but a forwarded message can travel further than you meant. Send it only to the person who needs it, check the number first, and keep it out of family groups. Your result also says something about your relatives' genes, not only yours.
Will a report from another city or country be accepted?
Generally yes, if it came from a clinical laboratory and names the gene, the variant and the classification. Results from consumer DNA kits are different. They are not designed for medical decisions and are normally confirmed in a clinical laboratory first. Bring the report anyway and let the counsellor decide.
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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Accreditation and empanelment
- NABH
- NABL
- ISO 9001:2015
- ArogyaSri empanelled
- CGHS accepted
- ECHS accepted
- EHS accepted
- Major cashless insurers
Paying for it
Insurance, schemes and payment
What you actually pay usually differs a great deal from the sticker figure.
AarogyasriEmpanelled. Bring the card and a referral where you have one.
CGHS / ECHS / EHSAccepted at CION centres for eligible treatment.
Cashless insuranceMost major insurers are empanelled. Pre-authorisation is handled by our desk.
Self-payItemised estimate given before treatment starts. No EMI scheme exists.
Where to find us
Our centres in and around Hyderabad
Addressed by landmark, because that is how this city navigates. One helpline books a consultation at any of these centres, and your team will tell you where counselling and testing take place.
Warangal
Vizag
Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
- MedlinePlus Genetics — What do the results of genetic tests mean?
- Genetics in Medicine (ACMG/AMP) — Standards and guidelines for the interpretation of sequence variants
- National Medical Commission — Code of Medical Ethics Regulations, 2002
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
Second opinion on a genetic result in HyderabadWhen you want a fresh reader for an old reportGetting surveillance scans closer to homeWhich checks can move to your district, and which should notGenetic counselling in Hyderabad: where to startIf you are starting over with a new teamKeeping your result out of a shared medical recordWho sees your report once you hand it over
Talk to us
Moving your genetic care to a new centre?
Bring whatever papers you have and we will tell you what is missing and help you trace it. A genetic counsellor can review an existing report without repeating the test. One helpline serves every CION centre.