Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
Keeping your genetic report findable for years to come | CION Cancer Clinics
A genetic report answers a question that can come up again decades after the appointment is forgotten. This page explains what is actually worth keeping beyond the summary letter, how to store it so it survives a lost phone or a house move, and who else in the family should know where it is. 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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Keeping it safe
Why does an old genetic report still matter?
Because the questions it answers do not go away. A report you were handed after one relative's cancer can still matter when a grandchild asks about their own risk, long after the appointment is forgotten and the doctor who ordered the test has moved on. Genetic results do not expire, and neither should your copy of them.
What actually needs keeping
Not the summary letter alone. The full laboratory report, with the exact gene, the exact variant and how it was classified, is the only version anyone can act on later. A short covering letter that just says "positive" or "negative" cannot be reinterpreted by anyone, however carefully it is kept.
Why the original document matters more than your memory of it
Families tend to remember the headline and lose the detail. "Something to do with breast cancer" is not a fact a future doctor can use. The exact wording on the report is. Years on, it may be the only record left of which gene, which laboratory and which test was used, and memory alone rarely keeps that detail straight across a whole family.
A report is a document for the future, not just for the week you received it.Four things, not one
What should you actually keep, beyond the letter?
Most families keep one page and lose the rest. All four of these matter, and only one of them is the page most people file away.
The full laboratory report
Every page, not the summary sheet. It carries the exact gene name, the variant notation and the classification, which is what any future doctor or counsellor will actually read.
The consent form
It records what was tested for and what was agreed at the time, including whether incidental findings were included. It answers questions a plain result cannot.
Any raw data you were given
Some laboratories hand over a data file alongside the report. It is rarely useful on its own, but it can matter if the sample itself is no longer available for retesting.
The referral or counselling letter
It explains why the test was ordered and what the family history looked like at the time. That context often matters as much as the result itself.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistDoing it once, properly
How do you store a report so it survives?
Scan it, then keep the scan in two places
A phone photo fades into a photo library and gets lost in a phone upgrade. A proper scan, saved to cloud storage and to a second device, survives a lost phone or a broken laptop.
Keep one physical copy somewhere named
A folder in a cupboard everyone in the house already knows about beats a drawer only one person remembers. Label it clearly as a medical or genetic report.
Tell one relative exactly where it is
Not everyone needs a copy, but one person other than you should know where the original lives. A report nobody can find is no different from one that was never kept.
Keep the laboratory's contact details with it
Write down which laboratory ran the test and, if you have it, the report or accession number. It is what a new clinic will ask for first if the report ever needs to be checked or reissued.
On the report
The words on the report worth understanding
- Accession or report number
- The laboratory's own reference for your sample. Quote it if you ever call that laboratory back or move your care elsewhere.
- Reference laboratory
- The laboratory that actually ran the test, which is not always the hospital that collected your sample. It is who a new doctor will need to contact.
- Reclassification
- A later update to how a variant is read, as more people are tested worldwide and more is learned. It is why the original report, not a summary, needs to be kept.
- Raw data
- The underlying file behind the report, sometimes offered separately. It is not something you can read yourself, but it can allow re-analysis without a fresh sample.
- Transcript number
- A reference version of the gene the laboratory used to describe your variant. Two laboratories can describe the identical fault slightly differently if they used different transcripts.
- Consent form
- The record of what you agreed to be tested for. It matters if a question ever comes up about what was, and was not, included.
Leave a number, we will call you
One field. No form to fill in, and no charge for the call.
Did you know
Public variant databases are updated constantly as laboratories worldwide add new cases. A variant classified one way at the time of your test can be reclassified later purely because more people like you have since been tested. Keeping the original report is what lets that update reach you.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether your specific report has since been reclassified, or whether it still says what it said on the day you received it. Only the laboratory that issued it, or a genetic counsellor reviewing it fresh, can answer that.
It cannot replace asking for a reissue
If your only copy is a photograph on an old phone, or the wording has faded past reading, the laboratory that ran the test can usually reissue it. That conversation is worth having before you need the report urgently, not during an emergency, since a reissue can sometimes take a little while to arrange.
Who this does not apply to
If you have never had a genetic test, there is no report to keep and nothing here applies to you yet. This is for people, and their families, who already have one sitting somewhere in a drawer or an old email.
If you are not sure where your report is, or ever had one, call the helpline and describe what you remember. Someone will help you trace it.Questions we are asked
Common questions about keeping a genetic report
I only have a phone photo of my report. Is that enough?
It is better than nothing, but photos fade into camera rolls and get lost when a phone changes. Turn it into a proper scan, save it in two separate places, and ask the laboratory for a clean reissue if the writing is hard to read.
Should I share my report with my children?
At minimum, tell one adult child where it is kept. Whether to show it to a younger child, and when, is a family and counselling decision, not something the document itself settles.
What if the laboratory that tested me has since closed?
Your own copy becomes the only record, which is exactly why keeping the full report matters. A genetic counsellor can often still interpret it even if the original laboratory no longer exists to be contacted.
Can I get a translated copy for family who read Telugu?
Ask your counsellor for a plain-language summary in Telugu alongside the English report. Keep both together rather than instead of each other, since the English document is what any laboratory will need.
Does moving cities or countries change anything?
Not to the report itself, but it makes carrying a copy with you more important, since a new clinic will have no record of your history. Bring the full report, not just a summary, to the first appointment anywhere new.
Do I need to keep the raw data file too?
Keep it if you were given one, but it is not essential the way the written report is. Most families never need to open it, though it can help if reanalysis is ever needed without a new sample.
Should this go with my will or other important papers?
That is a reasonable place for it, alongside insurance and identity documents. The point is that it sits somewhere organised and known, not that it sits in any one particular file.
How do I know if my old report needs a second look?
If it is more than a few years old, or a new cancer has appeared in the family since, it is worth a fresh conversation with a genetic counsellor. Bring the original report rather than describing it from memory.
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 is genetic testing?
- National Cancer Institute — Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
- NHS — Predictive genetic tests for cancer risk genes
- ClinGen — About the ClinGen Resource
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
How to read a germline genetic test reportStart here if the report itself is confusingVariant reclassification: when a result changes years laterWhy the report you kept can matter againWhat to do if you receive a reclassification letterThe letter this page is preparing you forWhat a good genetic report should containCheck your own report against this list
Talk to us
Not sure what to do with an old report?
Tell us what you have, even a photo of a faded page, and we will help you work out what it means and whether it needs a fresh look. One helpline serves every CION centre.