To think Chris Evans experience of cancer treatment isn't common ?

[Warszawa]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66863274

I saw this article about Chris Evans having skin cancer removed. He mentions in the article time is of the essence and to get symptoms checked out - good advice of course but practically is that possible any more?

it's great that he got early intervention, but I've spent the last two weeks trying and failing to get a GP appointment for a fairly urgent matter.

I wonder what the experiences of "ordinarily people" ie those without the wealth to give access to private medical care are like? It doesn't mention in the article if he was treated on the NHS

Im not really looking at it from a political angle ( NHS has obviously been ran into the ground) I am interested to hear of peoples experiences - was it a battle to get seen etc

My AIBU is " I don't think you or I as a person reliant on the NHS would have had a similar experience to Chris, esp post pandemic"

My mum was fobbed off by her gp for weeks with various steroid creams. She was told derm referral would be over a years wait, so she went privately. The consultant diagnosed pre cancerous change but was not happy with the GP failing to act and wrote to him saying he had to prescribe the treatment on the NHS

Similar. My husband was seen within 2 weeks last month.

@IMustDoMoreExercise my mum is going private because dermatology appointments are 18 month wait minimum in her area. Really glad to hear it isn’t everywhere.

The UK ranks 17th out of 19 on the Civitas cancer outcomes 2022. Some people get treatment in a timely manner - this shouldn’t be cause for applause, it should be the norm. The NHS isn’t fantastic. All the people being brushed aside and neglected are the ones who matter.

Even if it is suspected melanoma? That can't be right.

I’ve been waiting to see a dermatologist for over a year now for a crusty bleeding lesion on my face. Had cryotherapy three times and it keeps coming back. There is a postcode lottery for this kind of treatment.

My partner had a mole I was concerned about (I know, I know, it was my job to be concerned about it) phoned the gp, asked to send a pic in , given an appointment the day pic arrived for the same week, referred to dermatology, appointment within 2 weeks, Mole removed and biopsied, all fine, took five weeks in total and that was about a year ago in a not very rich area. I’m so sorry for anyone struggling to get an appointment or diagnosis but this was my experience.

@TeenLifeMum If the GP suspects melanoma, it would be a priority referral and be faster than that. Suspect waiting times in my area are similar.

I wonder how many BCC that have been left a long time for treatment were not on head or face?
I have had them twice from my face, then my scalp
seen and removed very fast - within 3 weeks
first time there was a cluster of around 3 growths and I have a 5 cm scar down my face from corner of my eye to cheek- luckily my glasses sort of sit on it so not too obvious.
but BCC, whilst not a killer at all often, can lead to very deformed scarring and damage, so I suspect NHS moves faster dependent on where they are? And maybe the size and how long you’ve had them already?

in my case I’d had first set for months before seeing Gp. I didn’t know that spots that looked like little craters and kept bleeding were classic BCC. I do now. Second time it was caught earlier by diligent hair dresser who showed me

I was listening to more or less on radio 4 this week. Skin cancer, which includes BCC records now, is the most common cause of cancer- 1 in 6 women, and more men, will get it. They were explaining that historically NHS hasn’t been good at recording BCC data, but now that’s changing and it’s a shock to many people how common it is. Including, I suspect, commissioning management in health authorities and hence longer wait times in some areas.

@landofgiants i work in the hospital Trust and we literally have no consultants. There’s a new deal arranged where a neighbouring Trust is stepping in to help. Gp did suspect melanoma and it was next to the site a previous pre cancerous area of skin had been removed. Our area is really bad for this.

I had a BCC. 2 weeks for initial GP appointment. 17weeks to be seen at dermatologist.3 weeks for results. 2 weeks for next appointment. 5 weeks until operation.

My friend, 37 year old dad of 2, was utterly failed by the NHS with his cancer. In and out of hospital with an auto immune disorder (nope, it was cancer). Eventually found the cancer and had a limb cut off, no follow up, no rehab except you're cancer free and sent on his merry way. Dead 4 months later. That was over the past 2 years.

My 88 year old grandad however- found a lump in his neck three weeks ago plus bowel issues, trip to the docs and he's on chemo next week after getting dentists to ok it and a few extra scans.

It's a complete lottery, and mostly depends on how you present (middle class, please) and how well you advocate for yourself.

I wouldn't trust the NHS to do the right thing for someone when no one is looking, that's for sure. Individuals, yeh but as a collective? Never.

@Vinvertebrate they were right - BCC doesn’t need to be treated like other cancers. Certainly not with any degree of urgency. The carcinoma word is misleading. The “clap clap” is unnecessary.

(I’ve had several removed)

You know it’s not a race to the bottom? 🤦‍♀️

My friend had a mammogram it picked up something she was seen and scan/tested well within the two week wait. This was very recently. All nhs.

@TeenLifeMum Sorry to hear that, and hope she gets seen and treated quickly, it must be very worrying for her.

My mum under the NHS had her patch of skin cancer (squamous cell carcinoma, easily treatable, thankfully) cut out v quickly after the GP’s referral in 2021. The GP referred her from photos she emailed him of the area.

I work for a private healthcare company and I speak to multiple patients a day who are going private for scans, tests and procedures because the waiting lists on the NHS are months or even years long, often including cancer patients.

I'm glad it doesn't appear to be like that across the board but it's obviously a massive problem. It's also sad to see people getting themselves into crippling, life changing debt just to try and get medical attention sooner. I've had people brought to tears when they realise exactly how much that panel of blood tests actually costs.

I’m a massive critic of the NHS and look for every opportunity to criticise them but my mother was recently diagnosed with skin cancer (superficial thank God) and her diagnosis was very, very quick and very thorough - the mole she went in to get checked was fine, but the consultant spotted another patch of skin that she diagnosed as cancerous immediately. She has received her treatment (light therapy, amazing!) very quickly and her experience at the hospital during treatment has been brilliant, and she’s already got her follow up appointment scheduled for early 2024. It’s been brilliant. Even I can’t criticise and believe me, I’ve been ready and waiting to start writing letters of complaint!

I do wonder if skin care is very different as it’s so much more treatable and with such a vast range of treatment options, and much easier to diagnose. My other experience of a parent with cancer was very, very different and riddled with NHS delays and poor treatment, and had a horrible outcome. So I do think most of the time it’s crap, but I have to call out the good I’ve seen this time.

….Evans explained he had the surgery last Thursday, following a phone conversation with his dermatologist, who told him that the freckle - originally found on his leg by his masseur - "had moved, metastasised, was malignant" and would need to be "removed"

Metastasised but now cured?

to be fair, I really think it depends on your area and GP practice.
All through lockdown and continuing now, I've never had a problem getting same day appointments - or reasonably next day if I call in the afternoon. A neighbour who is with a different practice said pretty much the same about her GP.

I had an odd mole in 2020 and was in Dermatology in a week. Removed that day and when it was cancerous and needed a good digging around, referred for surgery. The wait was six months for what was a fast spreading cancer. Thankfully the surgeon did a great job and it hadn't spread to the lymph nodes. That really was just luck though.

Chris is right, check moles regularly and get them excised at the earliest moment. Wear factor 50 and for goodness sake don't go on a tanning bed.

You can read all the actual stats here rather than hearsay and anecdotal information https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/

There is a lot that does not work well in the NHS but the cancer pathways are definitely one of the better elements of the NHS

Kent, a mole which changed quickly in size and bled, sent a photo for e-consult, no messing was in 2 weeks later for outpatients to have it removed, in fact 13 days from day I took photo. No messing here.

What like prostrate cancer where psa levels are low? Neuroendocrine tumours/Carcinoid tumours? CML/CLL? Or any of the other potentially slow growing, indolent cancers?

So, yes, BCC is not an aggressive cancer, but untreated it can lead to the most appalling disfigurement, ulcers, and over a long time, a chance it will metastasise into lymph nodes. BCCs can grow and spread at a rate of 1 cm per year. It is better treated and removed with Mohs procedure early, than left to spread and needing skin grafting over a bigger legion, or leaving big scars.

it is most certainly a carcinoma. What do you think the definition of a carcinoma is? 🤦‍♀️

you may well have had yours removed and think nothing of it, great. But I have a 5 cm scar along my face from one removal, and a skin grafted bald patch in my hair from another ( along with scar on my buttock from where the skin was taken). I was seen by dermatologist urgently- it was me that dismissed them as spots and lumps for months. I am very fair skinned, have always hated being in sun and heat , have vitamin D deficiency and assumed I couldn’t ever have got enough sun to get skin cancer, I left it months before seeing Gp. As a result the Mohs procedure resulted in taking out a lot of tissue and facial scaring/skin grafting.

it should not be ignored, dismissed etc. hence why the NICE statistics on ALL keratinocyte cancers are now being tracked more carefully and accurately.

https://www.myskincentre.com.au/article/happens-skin-cancer-goes-untreated/#:~:text=Leaving%20Basal%20Cell%20Carcinoma%20Untreated&text=While%20death%20is%20a%20rare,on%20the%20way%20you%20look.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9060124/