For some people who think they are sick, the worst situation is for the diagnostic results to stay pending. Awaiting the verdict of an examination causes anxiety levels comparable to those of an unfavorable response. The anticipated outcome of a diagnostic examination causes considerable stress. The anxiety of the medical response after a biopsy, for instance, can involve something more than sleepless nights. Waiting to know if you are sick or not can induce biochemical alterations that can compromise the immune system and hamper healing.

In particular, the level of cortisol that is often called “stress hormone” increases its concentration in response to stressful stimuli. Cortisol helps the body combat acute stress by adjusting blood pressure, sugar levels, and immune response when necessary. But when stress becomes chronic, the secretion of cortisol goes into overproduction, rendering the immune system and other functions vulnerable.

Doctors should be encouraged to speed up the analysis and presentation of results of biopsies. Patients, in turn, should ask who will communicate to them their results and how much time it will take before full results can be disclosed. If possible, schedule for biopsy should take into account any delays associated with weekend or holiday. For health professionals, it should no longer be a case for stressful long delays to be regarded as merely the patient getting just a little nervous.

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