Has anyone been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer without a biopsy?

Staging decisions can sometimes be made based on imaging and clinical findings when there's clear evidence of disease spread, though approaches can vary between medical teams. This sounds like an incredibly challenging journey, and it's completely understandable to have questions about the diagnostic process. Others in this community may have had similar experiences with their staging and can share their perspectives on how their medical teams approached diagnosis and treatment planning.

I have stage 4 metastatic squamous cell carcinoma behind my ear and in my neck. It came out of nowhere and within 45 days I had a 11/4” tumor removed from behind ear as well as 5 lymph nodes and a saliva gland. I went through 33 rounds of radiation therapy and have a years worth of immune therapy. The toughest part of the radiation therapy is going and coming back home. The treatment itself I can handle. The fatigue is not fun nor is the loss of taste. To answer your question yes, they didn’t want to take any chances that it would move in my lungs or bones. I already have COPD. I hope you have been able to get some information about your situation, please feel free to reach out if you would like