Pathology

Pathology is a medical specialty about the study and causes of disease

Pathology is a vital part of cancer diagnosis.  

Contact pathology

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.00am - 5.00pm. 

Results

The results phone number for clinicians is (03) 8559 7284. 

Patients needing urgent follow up of results should contact their nurse coordinator, who is available via our switchboard (03) 8559 5000. 

Outpatient Pathology  

  • Phone: (03) 8559 8110 

About us

Pathologists examine changes in tissue, blood, and other fluid samples.

This lets them: 

  • Understand the potential for disease development  

  • Understand the cause or severity of disease   

  • Check the progress of disease, effectiveness of treatment. This also includes a check of your general health

Our team uses blood and other tissue samples to help diagnose tumour types. They can also help find a prognosis. This helps inform your clinicians about the best management for your cancer. 

Our team runs a 24-hour on-site service that supplies:   

  • Biochemistry  

  • Haematology  

  • Anatomical pathology  

  • Diagnostic molecular pathology  

You may have blood or specimens collected during a procedure. They would have collected these from inpatients or in our outpatient pathology clinic. 

If so, such specimens will go straight to our on-site pathologists for analysis.  

Outpatient pathology clinic  

Our nurses also offer a range of other services. These services support our patients beyond blood and specimen collection. 

We provide:  

  • Blood collection  

  • Blood taking from a central venous access device  

  • Central venous access device dressing and cap change  

  • Cannulation  

  • Electrocardiography (ECG)  

  • Port access/flush  

  • Specimen collection (urine, swabs)  

Find a pathology collection centre nearby  

We prefer the following blood sampling centres to collect specimens: 

These companies will be able to send results to our Electronic Medical Record (EMR), making it quicker for us to access them. That way our clinical staff can view them fast and let you know.   

You do not have to use one of these sites, especially if they take you a long time to get to.   

Referrals  

Your specialist will organise a referral for you should you need one.  

Appointments  

You do not have to have an appointment. Take a coloured card depending on the type of test you are having. This will help staff to see you fast. 

What to bring  

If you are coming to the outpatient pathology to have a test, your doctor will either:   

  • Organise to send a pathology slip to outpatient pathology 

  • Give you a slip to take with you.  

If you are given a slip - please bring this with you when you come to us. That way our nurses know what type of each specimen they need to collect. They will also know how much to collect and which analysis your doctor needs. 

Fees  

We are a bulk billing service. This means that you will not need to pay if you have a Medicare card, but will need to pay if you do not.  

Location  

Level 2, 2B Pathology  
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre  
305 Grattan Street  
Melbourne VIC 3000 

Related pages

Go back to the Tests and diagnosis page