Diagnosis
This means finding out if your child has cancer and, if so, what type of cancer they have. Doctors will do this by assessing your child and their symptoms, and by doing tests.
Tests and scans
Various tests and scans will be done to diagnose your child's illness and to monitor your child throughout treatment.
Staging
The stage of a cancer means the size of the tumour and whether or not it has spread beyond where it started in the body. Knowing the extent of the cancer helps doctors decide on the best treatment for your child.
Test results
Some test results, for example blood results, can be given on the same day. But the results of most tests needed to diagnose a tumour (cancer) take a few days and need to be examined by specialists such as pathologists and radiologists. The Consultant will most often need to wait until all the test results are available before being able to give a definite diagnosis. Results are given as soon as possible.