Anyone had a mole investigated? GP has referred me to hospital.

[tomtom1999xx]

Hi,

I have a new mole ( well it’s been there about 8 months, no change in appearance )
I thought it was just an age spot but thought I’d get it checked anyway whilst at the doctors ( for an unrelated reason )
I wasn’t particularly worried about it but now I’m freaking out that I might have skin cancer.
If this has happened to you, how quickly do you get a firm diagnosis?

Many thanks.

I had an urgent referral for one mole ,had four removed same day ,biopsies all clear and just need to keep check on other moles.

I had a mole that I was monitoring with an app, was advised to get it checked out. Went to GP, referred under 2 week wait, saw consultant who wanted it removed. Had that done about 8 weeks later. (The anaesthetic hurt like hell!) got the reupsults back 2 weeks later. It was a rodent ulcer, i.e. Cancer but non malignant so no further treatment required.
I was surprised at the size of the wound, had 6 sutures and then got an infection so ended up in major antibiotics!

OP I know it’s easy for me to say but try not to worry. I do understand how you are feeling because I have been through it this year. And I bet you’ve been googling and looking at outcomes of skin cancer haven’t you? That was the first thing I did and I frightened myself silly.

It turns out that my mole was a malignant melanoma. It was in the middle of my back and had been there for probably two years. In that time it had grown and changed. It was only through a chance encounter with a doctor that mine was picked up. So, I was booked in for surgery that week, had it removed under local anaesthetic and then spent a very nerve wracking, scary two weeks waiting for results. Mine was malignant melanoma but it was thankfully caught at stage 1A, which has a 99% positive prognosis. I had further surgery and a year of checks with the consultant.

So, the reason I’m telling you all this is that the sooner they are caught, the better the prognosis. And that’s why many GPs now will refer anything remotely suspicious, because it’s so much better to get it removed as soon as possible. They are taking a more cautious, preventative approach.

Best of luck, just remember that it’s more likely than not to be absolutely fine. Keep us posted.

Gosh, 2 years old and still only at stage 1A? I guess some of them can grow very slowly.

Try not to worry, a friend of mine works with one of the major firms that provide medical indemnity insurance to Doctors/Nurses etc. She said about two years ago that one of there major sources of claims was skin cancer, they printed an article in their membership magazine about it. I am guessing that they refer alot of the time to be safe rather than sued.

@Freaking0ut what was it about your mole that your doctor thought was suspicious? Mine is also in the middle of my back, but it’s impossible to get a good look at it.

A relatives experience (about 12 years ago):
Went to see GP. He thought it was fine, but referred relative to another GP with more experience.
Second GP also thought it was fine, but referred him to hospital just in case.
Seen by consultant (about 2 weeks later). Consultant thought it was fine, but advised removal just in case.
Removal occurred about 2 weeks later.
Tests showed it was malignant, but early stages (I guess 1A, but don't know that).
More skin surrounding the area was removed a little later (within a month). The relative was monitored for 3 years, but has been completely clear since. So even if you do have a malignant melanoma, there's a very good chance of a full recovery if it's caught early enough. The mole had been there for some time (years), but had changed in the few months leading up to diagnosis.

I realise that's not the best case scenario, but long term it's been a good outcome..

@Twotome I think on reflection it ticked a lot of the boxes on the ABCDE test, it was asymmetrical, the border was irregular, the colours varied, the diameter was well over 6mm and it had ‘evolved’ (grown).

I think it must have only turned malignant fairly recently, given how long it had been there. I am so bloody lucky that that was the case because if it had been one of the more aggressive types I would have been in trouble. Mine was also a classic case of a mum not making time to look after herself. I knew it was there, I’d even got my husband to take a photo of it a few years ago, but every time I thought I should go and get it checked, my time ended up being taken up with something else, usually to do with my kids. I’ll forever be grateful that that doctor approached me, he saved my life.

I’d post photos, I do have before and after, but I’m worried about it being lifted by the Daily Fail.

But also please please try not to worry and stay away from Google. Do you have an appointment yet? If you like I can PM the photo and am happy to do that for anyone else here, just let me know.

I went last year due to one bleeding and was referred. My GP told me they automatically have to refer now - whether she said that to make me feel better or if it was the truth I don't know.
Anyway was at the hospital in two weeks, then back 3 days later for removal and a biopsy. It all came back clear and the consultant made it clear that if I was ever worried to please come back - put me completely at ease.

I think because the outcomes are so much better if caught early, they are very keen to check any that look suspicious. So, being referred is a good thing!

@Freaking0ut if you wouldn’t mind sending the pics, that would be really helpful.

I have my appointment next Tuesday, and I haven’t come off google since I was referred!

My 84 year old Mom is going through this at the moment.

She recently noticed a red mark on her arm so mentioned it to the nurse when having a routine blood test less than two weeks ago. The nurse made her an appointment with the GP for two days later, on the Friday, and the GP referred her to a dermatology consultant.

On Monday last week, which was the next working day, she had a call from the consultant's secretary giving her an appointment for three days later. She's now booked in for a biopsy next week as the consultant feels that there's a chance that it could be cancer so we're all worried.

@MadisonAvenue fingers crossed it’s good news for your Mum.

I’ve had to have several suspicious looking moles removed over the years - always been ok. I no longer worry. I’ve got a lot of moles so go every couple of years or so to a mole clinic to get checked out.

My dad has been having suspicious moles removed for decades. Some were cancerous. He is very adept at going to the doc as soon as he notices a change, so problems are dealt with before they escalate. He’s 87 now and will die of something else.

One of the “young dermatologists” he first saw in the 1980s and has seen fairly often since, is about to retire!

It’s always worth getting a dodgy mole checked out promptly.

@GotToGoMyOwnWay is it a private clinic? I've got so mNy moles and keep thinking I ought to get checked but I don't know where to start. GP presumably but if there was a specific private clinic that might be good

@OhWifey

More or less any private dermatologist or plastic surgeon would be a fair call for getting a selection of moles eyeballed, though the costs of biopsies could stack up depending what they think.

@OhWifey

I go here
www.themoleclinic.co.uk/contact#contact-clinics

I went to the gp about a mole I was worried about on my thigh, he said it was fine but he noticed one on my neck and told me it had to come off !
He took it off a couple of months later and sent it off , came back fine . It was a but painful when he cut it out but I'm glad he did it . And it was worth going because I hadn't given the mole on my neck a second thought before!

@Twotome I don’t seem to be able to attach a photo to a pm. I will post it here.

The photo in the left was it a few years ago. It was a collection of freckles, but they concerned me a little bit because I got my husband to take a photo. On reflection, I should have just gone to see the doc then because there was enough there to be concerned about.

The photo on the right was it when it was picked up by the doctor. It had grown and changed a lot, this had taken about 18months. I’m a very lucky person.

And this is my scar after having it removed and a further wider excision after they discovered it was melanoma.

My teen daughter noticed one on my back yesterday, very small but dark and I don’t remember it being that dark, although it’s in a really hard place to see.
I have had a couple of dodgy ones removed before and they were okay, but now concerned about this. Fortunately managed to get a cancellation so seeing GP this afternoon.

@Freaking0ut glad you got it sorted. 18 months seems a long time, but it just flys by.