Feel sick, letter from hospital after biopsy, does this mean I have it?

[Usgvgs]

I can’t get through to the hospital or my GP. Been trying all day after getting a letter today.

I had a mole removed from my back in the middle of September. Today I have a letter asking me to attend an appointment on 6th November. Nothing explained in the letter no mention of results. I am a lone parent and have no support I am terrified about what this could mean for my very young child.

Please can anyone help? I don’t have the NHS app and have tried calling the GP to see if they’ve had anything back. The letter says it I cannot attend and don’t tell them then I may not be offered another appointment and will be referred back to my GP. I feel sick and so scared and alone.

It might be they've found something bad, but mostly these things are treatable so don't worry too much.

Wrong. My dh was called back from a holiday when a biopsy on his leg came back as cancerous. HIs consultant cut out not only the mole but a large surrounding area to test it and ensure it hadn’t spread. He then told us how a patient of his (headmistress) delayed her biopsy to fit in with her school dates and sadly it wasn’t a good outcome.

Just because you have been called back doesn’t necessarily mean you have to worry, it could be nothing or pre-cancerous but I would request an earlier appointment in the event they have a cancellation. You don’t mess around with moles.

Hi OP, please don't worry- the appointment letter means nothing. I had a surgery and biopsy to remove a lump on my tongue. They sent me an appointment letter to come in to the hospital in person in Covid. Along with a note saying that in person appts were only where necessary. So you can imagine how freaked out I was!! I went in, 2 mins, good news not cancerous. Bye. Whatever the point was I have no idea, but I'm guessing these appointments are often booked in whether or not they have the results...

I've had two malignant melanomas - which they could only diagnose after the mole was removed. I then had to have a further excision around the area where the mole was - that goes deeper and wider than the mole removal but not by much and needs more stitches. I then had to check my lymph nodes and had regular check ups for a few years of all my moles. this included having photos taken of all the moles (the nearest to glamour photography I have done :) ) and getting used to doctors peering up close to your skin. But... that's it. no further treatment needed. Malignant melanoma is a strange one in that in most cases you don't have cancer by the time you know you do, because the cancerous mole is gone. but in a teeny amount of cases it can lead to something more serious so its always worth checking moles and tracking changes. I've had a few other moles removed just in case but all have been fine. I hope it all works out well for you.

Yes any results are blunt & as is with a warning that you might not like what you read. However, it's better than worrying unnecessarily

How can someone's experience and the experiences of people they know be 'wrong?' Stop dismissing other peoples lived experiences, and stop trying to scare the OP!

You consultant gave identifying details of a deceased patient? That is shockingly unprofessional. I hope you reported them. We need to have confidence that medical professionals will treat out medical information correctly, even posthumously.

just awful, and frightening for those of us currently under treatment.

This is not a binary situation. I know it feels as if either you are all fine or you've got terminal cancer, but there are lots of other possibilities, some trivial and some more serious but still not major.

I was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago but it is such a small and unaggressive cancer that they're not even treating it - just keeping an eye on it in case it changes behaviour. I also got a letter calling me in, and so I feared the worst, but it hasn't given me any symptoms nor any anxiety

Fingers crossed for you

To the best of my onowledge the rules around data protection/GDPR no longer apply when somebody is dead.

I had a non-serious skin cancer removed and was called for a second appointment a couple of weeks later. In the waiting room before my second appointment was a man who’d found a mole a couple of days earlier, had a very fast biopsy and been called back the next day. That’s the speed you’d need to be worried about @Usgvgs

Oh yes - bad news is posted on the app (test results)

I had a BCC removed some years ago. The consultant who did the excision said it looked like a BCC but would need to be examined to confirm this. I would receive another appointment through the post. When I went to that appointment, he confirmed his diagnosis and talked me through how to check myself.
If they had found a malignant cancer they would have phoned you up IMO.

Agree . It is most likely to be a routine follow up appointment. If it was a ‘nasty’ ie melanoma,I would have thought you would have been contacted before now!

You've never been through this process have you....

The general medical council guidelines state medical professionals duty of confidentiality continues after a patient has died.

however I have taken this thread down a rabbit hole as I was angry on behalf of the head teacher referenced (it’s all very personal at the minute🥲).

OP, please try not to worry, although I do understand the instinct. Take it one day at a time. There are lots of potential reasons for and outcomes of this meeting. It isn’t automatically bad news.

I was given “chemo cream” to use daily for 6 weeks. I know it’s worrying but it may be you get the cream or they remove it.

My DH had this several years ago with a mole on his leg. Had a letter asking him to go to an appointment, turned out it was stage 0 melanoma, they just removed some more tissue to make sure they got it all and then the tests came back ok. I know it’s hard not to worry, but try not to. He did manage to get them to tell him over the phone so hoping you can do that tomorrow xx

I had a follow up appointment after a biopsy. Gp knew nothing. Was at the back of my mind. Very relieved to get the all clear.

My friend had a large mole removed from her leg. She had to attend an appt to be given advice on what to do to protect the area from further exposure from the sun. That advice was don't wear shorts or skirts above a certain length etc. Always keep it covered etc. It might just be a follow up for results and some preventative advice or what to keep an eye out for.

I had a phone call from my consultant when my mole biopsy found precancerous cells.

The punch biopsy had removed most of it but I had to go in to get a prescription for steroid cream to finish it off - and I was given secretary’s number if I had any worries during treatment.
I was worried sick waiting for the first phone call so totally feel for you, OP. I’m absolutely fine now x

I received a letter calling me back after having a mole removed from my arm. All was well thankfully, they just wanted to check the wound and tell me what to look out for etc. Totally understand your worry because I too had assumed if it was ok I wouldn’t need to go back.

Just download the app, it takes a few minutes and you'll see any test results, which you can then research between now and your apt

I had to go back for a follow up appointment. It doesn’t mean anything really - if was urgently serious you’d have heard. Even if it’s cancer you’ll be on the treatment track soon enough.

My husband had a X-ray and he got a phone call from the surgery with an appointment to go and see the dr to discuss results, he tried to call the doctor about the results and they told him that the doctor wouldn’t even look at the results until the day of his appointment!!

I have had a lot of tests recently, they have only been uploaded once my consultant has discussed them with me and approved them for release. Lots of the tests(MRIs, bloods etc) have never been uploaded.

In my experience the app is good for early sighting letters and appointments but only about 10% of my results have ever been uploaded.