Do doctors tend to "sugar coat" bad news prior to a biopsy if they believe their exam may be a cancer diagnosis or do they want to prepare patients if they have a strong feeling cancer will be seen in the biopsy?

There are as many modes of presenting news as there are doctors. In general, they tend to suggest a biopsy at the earliest moment they consider a worrisome diagnosis possible, even when the issue is likely benign since they never want to overlook anything. The is especially true when early diagnosis leads to successful therapy if a problem is found.