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This is when a small sample of tissue is taken from a part of the body, then looked at under a microscope so that a diagnosis can be made.
Exactly how the biopsy is taken will depend on where in your body it is. Some people will be given a general anaesthetic and so will be asleep when it is done, while other people will only need a local anaesthetic, which numbs the area. There’s more information about having an anaesthetic in the surgery| section.
For answers, support or just a chat, call the Macmillan Support Line free (Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm)
So I went in for the biopsy, and a biopsy is where they put a needle into, and take a core, a very, very small core, out of the area where they think the tumour is, and then they can do tests on that core of material, and test what it is... I was a little bit sore, but I was okay and just got on with everything Someone who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma aged 18 talking about her biopsy.
So I went in for the biopsy, and a biopsy is where they put a needle into, and take a core, a very, very small core, out of the area where they think the tumour is, and then they can do tests on that core of material, and test what it is... I was a little bit sore, but I was okay and just got on with everything
Someone who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma aged 18 talking about her biopsy.
If you have any questions about cancer, need support or just want someone to talk to, ask Macmillan.