Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Travelling from Warangal for genetic testing: who comes, and when | CION Cancer Clinics
You may not need to travel from Warangal for a genetic test at all. The test is a blood or saliva sample, and the counselling that decides which test to do can start by video, in Telugu. When a trip does help, it is usually one day, planned around the relative who has had cancer. This page explains who should come, what happens, and what can stay at home. 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
- Do you have to come to Hyderabad from Warangal for a genetic test?
- Who from the family should actually come?
- What happens between the first call and the result?
- What do the terms on the day mean?
- Which steps can stay in Warangal?
- What this page cannot tell you
- Four things Warangal families tell us, and what is true
- Common questions from Warangal families
The short answer
Do you have to come to Hyderabad from Warangal for a genetic test?
Not always. The test itself is a blood or saliva sample, and the laboratory that runs it may be in another city entirely. What matters is the counselling that decides which test to do and who should have it first. That conversation can start by phone or video from Warangal, Hanamkonda or Kazipet, and it can be held in Telugu.
Why the counselling comes before the test
A gene test ordered without counselling often tests the wrong person, or looks at the wrong set of genes. The counsellor reads the family history, decides whether testing is likely to help, and explains what a positive, negative or unclear result would mean before anyone gives blood. That protects you from paying for an answer you cannot use.
Who this does not apply to
Most people with one relative who had cancer later in life do not need a genetic test at all. If there are no young diagnoses, no rare cancers and no clear pattern on one side, a counsellor may simply tell you that ordinary screening for your age is enough. That is a useful answer, and it costs you no journey.
Somatic, or tumour, testing is a different test that guides treatment. It is covered on our targeted therapy pages.Who makes the journey
Who from the family should actually come?
Families often arrive in a large group, and then learn that only one person needed to be there. Plan the trip around the person who will be tested first.
The relative who has had cancer
This is almost always the person tested first. Their result tells everyone else whether there is a fault to look for. If they are having treatment in Hyderabad, plan the genetics visit on the same day.
The person who will decide and pay
Often a son or daughter. It helps if they hear the counselling directly, but they can join by video from their office or from abroad.
Relatives worried about their own risk
Brothers, sisters and grown children usually wait. If a fault is found in the first person, they are then offered a simpler test for that exact fault, and that test can often happen closer to home.
They do not need to come yet
- If the first person has not been tested
- If they are under eighteen, in most cases
- If they have not decided they want to know
One companion
Someone calm who can write things down. Counselling covers a lot of new words, and a second listener remembers what the first one missed.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistFrom first call to result
What happens between the first call and the result?
The first call
You describe who in the family had cancer and where they were treated. The helpline arranges a counselling appointment, by video or in person, depending on what the family needs.
Counselling
The counsellor builds the family tree with you, explains what a test could show, and talks through cost and privacy. You give consent only once you understand what you are agreeing to.
The sample
If you are in Hyderabad, blood is usually drawn the same day. If you are at home in Warangal, ask whether a local collection or a courier kit is possible for the test chosen.
The wait, and the result
Results take some time to come back, and the counsellor will tell you roughly how long. The result is explained on a call or in person. It is never simply sent as a report to decode alone.
Words you will hear
What do the terms on the day mean?
- Pre-test counselling
- The conversation before any sample is taken. It decides whether a test will help, and which one.
- Germline test
- A test for a fault present from birth in every cell, which can be passed down. This is what genetic counselling is about.
- First person tested
- The relative with cancer, whose result guides everyone else. Reports sometimes call them the index case or proband.
- Cascade testing
- Testing relatives one step at a time for a fault already found in the family, starting with the closest.
- VUS
- A variant of uncertain significance. The laboratory found a change it cannot yet classify. It is not a positive result.
- Consent form
- The paper you sign before the sample. Read it, and ask what happens to your sample and data afterwards.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Side by side
Which steps can stay in Warangal?
Done in Hyderabad
Possible from Warangal
Counselling face to face, with the family tree on paper
Counselling by video, with reports shared as photos
Blood drawn at the appointment
Sample collected locally, where the laboratory allows it
Results discussed in the room
Results explained on a video call
A surveillance plan drawn up
Some scans arranged closer to home
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether your family should be tested. A genetic counsellor decides that with you, after hearing who was diagnosed, with what, and at what age. A short call is usually enough to know whether a trip is worth making.
It cannot read a report for you
What your specific variant means is a question for the counsellor who ordered the test. If you are holding a report from another laboratory, bring it or share it, and let someone qualified explain it. Searching the gene name online tends to frighten more than it helps.
It cannot fix a timetable or a price
How long results take, and what they cost, depend on the test chosen and the laboratory. Ask for both in writing before the sample is taken. Aarogyasri and Ayushman Bharat are built around treatment, and a standalone gene test is often not covered, so check your card first.
Commonly believed
Four things Warangal families tell us, and what is true
"A test done from Warangal will be less reliable than one done in Hyderabad."
Reliability depends on the laboratory that runs the test, not the town where the blood is drawn. What matters is that the sample is collected in the right tube, labelled properly and sent on time.
"We need to fast and stay overnight for a gene test."
An inherited gene test is an ordinary blood or saliva sample. No special preparation is usually needed, unless other tests are planned for the same visit. Nobody stays in Hyderabad waiting for the result.
"If Amma's test is negative, none of us needs screening."
A clear result in the right person is reassuring for that fault. The family history can still mean some relatives should be screened earlier than usual. Your counsellor will say who.
"The most expensive test must be the right one."
A larger gene panel is not always better. It can find more unclear results that nobody can act on. The right test is the one chosen for your family's pattern of cancer.
Questions we are asked
Common questions from Warangal families
Is it easy to reach Hyderabad from Warangal for one appointment?
For most families, yes. Several trains run between Kazipet or Warangal and Secunderabad every day, and the road journey is manageable in a morning. Secunderabad station is on the metro line that runs to Ameerpet, where CION has a branch. Most families come and go within a single day.
Can counselling be done in Telugu?
Yes. Counselling can be arranged in Telugu, Hindi or English. Ask for Telugu when you book, so the whole family can follow the conversation. Written reports are usually in English, and the counsellor will go through yours line by line.
My father is too unwell to travel. Can he still be tested?
Often, yes. A sample can sometimes be taken where he is being treated, or collected at home where the laboratory allows it. If he has died, a stored tissue block from an earlier operation may still be usable. Ask the counsellor before anything is arranged.
How long does it take to get the result?
It varies with the test and the laboratory, so the counsellor will give you an estimate for the test chosen. You do not wait in Hyderabad. The result is explained on a call or at a later visit, and a written report follows.
Does Aarogyasri pay for the genetic test?
Usually not for a standalone inherited gene test, though treatment for a cancer found later may be covered. CION is empanelled for Aarogyasri treatment. Rules change, so bring the card and ask the desk to check before the sample is taken.
Can my sister in Bengaluru be tested without coming here?
If a fault is found in the family, yes. She can be tested for that exact fault near where she lives, using a copy of the family's report. She can also join the results conversation by video, so she hears the explanation first-hand.
Should our children be tested at the same time?
Usually not. For faults that raise risk only in adult life, testing waits until a child is grown and can decide for themselves. A few rare syndromes need earlier testing, and the counsellor will tell you if yours is one of them.
How do I start from Warangal?
Call the CION helpline. Describe who in the family had cancer, at what age, and where they were treated. Someone will tell you whether a video call is enough to begin, and help you plan any visit so the family travels as little as possible.
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 is genetic counseling?
- MedlinePlus Genetics — How is genetic testing done?
- NHS — Predictive genetic tests for cancer risk genes
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
Online genetic counselling from a districtStart the whole process by video from homeGetting surveillance scans closer to homeIf a fault is found, which checks can happen near WarangalGenetic counselling in Telugu in HyderabadHow to make sure the whole family can follow the conversationFrom Khammam and SuryapetThe same planning for families further south-east
Talk to us
Planning a genetics visit from Warangal?
Tell us who in the family had cancer and where they are being treated. We will help you decide whether to start by video or in person, and plan the day around the person being tested. One helpline serves every CION centre.