Yes, and this is actually the ideal time to enroll. Specicare can coordinate tissue preservation for both surgical biopsies and tumor removal procedures. The earlier you enroll, the more time we have to coordinate with your surgical team and ensure everything is prepared. Contact us as soon as your biopsy or surgery is scheduled—even if it’s just a few days away.
We recommend contacting us at least 3-7 days before your scheduled procedure to allow time for coordination with your hospital and surgical team. However, we’ve successfully arranged tissue preservation with as little as 24-48 hours notice. If your surgery is coming up quickly, call us immediately—we’ll do everything possible to make it work.
Tissue from your initial biopsy can be cryopreserved if there’s enough material after the pathology lab completes their diagnostic testing. However, the main tumor removal surgery typically provides more tissue for comprehensive preservation and future testing. We recommend enrolling before your biopsy so we’re ready for whichever procedure provides the best tissue sample.
No. Cryopreservation never interferes with your surgery, biopsy procedure, or diagnostic pathology. The pathology lab always takes what they need first for your diagnosis. Only after their samples are collected is a small additional portion preserved for you. Your standard cancer diagnosis and surgical outcomes are completely unaffected.
Most surgeons are very supportive once they understand the benefits for their patients. Specicare provides clear instructions and all necessary collection materials to make the process simple for surgical teams. We’ve worked with thousands of surgeons across the country. If your surgeon has questions, we’re happy to speak with them directly to explain the process and benefits.
Tissue collection and initial cryopreservation typically costs $2,500-$3,500 depending on your specific situation and tissue type. Annual storage fees are $250-$500 per year. Advanced testing is priced separately based on which tests you and your oncologist choose to run. Many patients find that avoiding even one ineffective treatment cycle (which can cost $50,000-$150,000) makes cryopreservation incredibly cost-effective.
Coverage varies by insurance provider and plan. Some insurance companies cover tissue preservation as part of diagnostic services, while others do not. We provide detailed invoices and documentation to help you submit claims. Many patients choose to pay out-of-pocket because the cost is minimal compared to the potential benefits and the cost of ineffective treatments.
It depends on timing and how your tissue was handled. If your surgery was within the past 24-48 hours and tissue was stored properly (refrigerated, not frozen or fixed in formalin), we may still be able to cryopreserve it. Contact us immediately—every hour matters. If your tissue was already fixed in formalin (FFPE), unfortunately cryopreservation is no longer possible, but we can discuss advanced testing options that may still be available.
Once tissue is fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin (FFPE), it cannot be cryopreserved because the fixation process kills the cells permanently. This is why enrolling before surgery is so important. FFPE tissue can still be used for some genetic testing, but it eliminates access to treatment effectiveness testing, many clinical trials, and several advanced diagnostic options that require living cells.
Tissue preserved in liquid nitrogen at -196°C can remain viable for decades—potentially your entire lifetime. Medical research facilities have successfully used cryopreserved tissue samples that were frozen 20-30 years ago. As long as tissue remains at proper cryogenic temperatures, cellular viability and DNA integrity are maintained indefinitely.
The ideal time is before starting first-line treatment, so you can use test results to guide initial therapy selection. However, testing is valuable at any point in your cancer journey—before starting treatment, when considering treatment changes, if initial treatments aren’t working, when exploring clinical trial options, or if you’re seeking a second opinion. Your preserved tissue remains available for testing whenever you and your oncologist decide it would be beneficial.
Treatment effectiveness testing (drug sensitivity assays), functional immunotherapy testing, organoid creation, certain RNA-based tests, and most precision oncology clinical trials require viable (living) tissue that can only come from cryopreservation. Comprehensive genomic sequencing can be performed on both FFPE and cryopreserved tissue, but cryopreserved samples provide higher quality data and enable additional testing FFPE cannot support.
Genetic testing analyzes your tumor’s DNA to identify mutations and predict which drugs might work based on those mutations. Treatment effectiveness testing actually exposes your living cancer cells to different drugs in a laboratory and directly observes which medications kill your specific cells. Think of genetic testing as reading the instruction manual, while effectiveness testing is actually test-driving the car. Both provide valuable information, and cryopreserved tissue enables you to do both.
Yes. Specialized tests can evaluate whether your tumor expresses biomarkers that make it vulnerable to specific immunotherapy drugs (like PD-L1 expression levels) and whether your tumor’s microenvironment supports immune response. Some advanced tests can even predict your likelihood of responding to specific immunotherapy medications before you take them, helping you and your oncologist avoid treatments unlikely to work for your specific cancer biology.
Most comprehensive genomic testing returns results within 2-3 weeks. Treatment effectiveness testing typically takes 2-4 weeks depending on the specific assays requested. Immunotherapy biomarker testing often returns results within 1-2 weeks. These timelines are generally faster than typical treatment cycles, meaning you can have actionable data before starting therapy or when considering treatment changes.
Approximately 70% of precision oncology clinical trials require viable tumor tissue for research, biomarker testing, or to verify eligibility criteria. Patients with only FFPE tissue are automatically disqualified from most of these trials. Cryopreserved tissue satisfies these requirements, dramatically expanding your clinical trial options—especially trials investigating targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and personalized treatment approaches.
Yes. Our team monitors clinical trials that match your cancer type and continuously evaluates new trial openings against your medical profile. When promising trials emerge that you may qualify for, we notify you and provide information to discuss with your oncologist. We also facilitate the tissue sample requirements for trial enrollment, which many patients cannot provide without cryopreservation.
No. You maintain complete control over your preserved tissue. No testing, research access, or clinical trial participation happens without your explicit written authorization. You decide if and when your tissue is used, what it’s used for, and who has access to it. Specicare acts as the custodian of your tissue, but you remain the owner and decision-maker.
Tissue licensing allows qualified research institutions to access de-identified tissue samples for cancer research studies. If you choose to participate, you may receive compensation when your tissue is licensed to researchers. More importantly, you contribute to cancer research that could lead to breakthrough treatments for future patients. Participation is completely optional and never affects your own access to your tissue for treatment purposes.
Enrollment takes about 10 minutes and can be completed online, over the phone, or via video consultation with a tissue specialist. Once enrolled, we immediately begin coordinating with your surgical team. The earlier you enroll relative to your surgery date, the smoother the coordination process. Contact us at 1 (833) 242-CURE (2873) or visit [ENROLLMENT URL] to get started.
You’ll need your basic contact information, insurance details (if seeking coverage), your surgery or biopsy date and location, your surgeon’s name and hospital information, and your cancer diagnosis or suspected diagnosis. If you don’t have all these details yet, we can still begin the enrollment process and gather remaining information as it becomes available.
We’re here to help. Call us at [PHONE] to speak with a tissue preservation specialist who can answer your specific questions, or schedule a free 15-minute consultation at [SCHEDULING URL]. You can also email questions to [EMAIL] and we’ll respond within 4 business hours. We understand this is a critical decision during a difficult time—we’re committed to providing clear, honest answers to every question you have.
Your tissue is stored in our FDA-compliant cryogenic storage facility with pharmaceutical-grade security protocols. Storage tanks maintain constant temperatures of -196°C with 24/7 monitoring, automated alert systems, backup power generators, and redundant storage systems. Our facility meets the same standards used by major medical research institutions and has never experienced a storage failure.
Yes. Your tissue belongs to you and moves with you regardless of where you receive treatment. If you change oncologists, hospitals, or even move across the country, we coordinate tissue sample shipping to your new medical team whenever testing or treatment requires it. Your Specicare account and tissue access remain active regardless of your location.
Your tissue storage and access rights can be designated to family members, transferred to a research institution per your wishes, or disposed of according to your written instructions. We recommend completing our tissue beneficiary designation form, which allows you to specify what happens to your preserved tissue and who makes decisions about it if you’re unable to do so.
Yes. You can discontinue storage service at any time. If you choose to cancel, you have several options: have your tissue transferred to another storage facility, donate it to cancer research (with appropriate consent), or have it disposed of according to medical waste protocols. We require 30 days notice for cancellation to arrange proper handling of your tissue per your wishes.
