Referral to a bone cancer specialist

Your GP should arrange for you to have an x-ray or see a bone specialist (orthopaedic doctor) if you have symptoms that could be due to bone cancer.

Seeing your GP

It can be hard for GPs to decide who may have bone cancer and who might have another condition. Other bone conditions are more common and bone cancer is very rare.

For some symptoms, your doctor may ask you to wait to see if the symptoms get better or respond to treatment, such as antibiotics or painkillers. The important thing is to go back to your GP if you’re not getting better.

Your GP might arrange for you to have an x-ray if you have bone pain or other symptoms that could be caused by bone cancer. They are done in the outpatient department of the hospital.

UK referral guidelines

There are guidelines for GPs to help them decide who needs a referral. These vary between the different UK nations. Your GP will use these guidelines as well as their own experience and judgement.

England, Wales and Scotland have specific referral guidelines for bone cancer.  

Specialists in Northern Ireland are updating their bone cancer guidelines. We will add these when they are available.

England and Wales

Adults should have an urgent referral if your x-ray shows that you might have bone cancer.

If you are aged 24 years or under with unexplained bone swelling or pain, you should have an urgent x-ray within 2 days. Your GP should refer you to a specialist within 2 days if the results of your x-ray suggest you might have a bone cancer.

Scotland

Adults should have an x-ray of an area of their body if they have unexplained bone pain or tenderness and it is:

• not going away (persistent)

• getting worse

• happening when you are not moving

• disturbing you when you are asleep or resting

You should have an urgent referral to a specialist if your x-ray shows that you might have bone cancer.

Scotland has separate guidelines for suspected cancer for children, teenagers and young adults. Your GP can discuss this with you more.

If you're still worried

Sometimes you might feel that your GP is not concerned enough about your symptoms. If you think they should be more concerned, print this page and the symptoms page. Ask your GP to explain why they don’t think you need a referral.

Contact your GP again if your symptoms don't get better or you notice any new or unusual symptoms. 

What should I do if I don’t get my appointment?

If your GP has referred you, ask them when you should get your appointment. Contact them again if you don’t get one. Or some hospitals have a referral service you could try contacting if you know which hospital you are going to. Explain that you are waiting for an urgent suspected cancer referral.

Waiting times

Your hospital is working towards waiting time targets. For example, a target to find out whether you have cancer or not. And there are targets to start treatment if you are diagnosed with cancer. These are slightly different depending on where you live in the UK.