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Original poster

Is this Melanoma?

34 replies

HunkieDorie · 04/01/2023 15:35

Hi all, wondering if I could get some insights. Close friend of mine has been having the following symptoms

  • breathless on walks (always had this from what I can remember but worse recently)
  • Mole in centre of chest (size of a raisin) has got darker and is painful to the touch- pain seems to have booked behind the mole and now inside the chest?
  • the mole is painful which I thought was a good sign? Also the mole is not bleeding. But it has gotten bigger.

He rang 111 2 days ago but still hasn't had a call back. Bugging him to go to the doctors to get checked!

OP posts:
Original poster
HunkieDorie · 04/01/2023 15:36

Sorry I meant pain has moved behind the mole. The mole isn't flat it is raised.

OP posts:
glasshole · 04/01/2023 15:37

Nobody here can diagnose this, go to a gp urgently!!!

Spacebears · 04/01/2023 15:38

Not necessarily, but it is very important that he gets that checked out. Mole changes should always be checked. 111 won't be able to help, he needs to book an emergency gp appointment so he can be referred to have it looked it.

Irisheyesareshining · 04/01/2023 15:39

Sorry but a bit pointless asking on the internet, he needs to see his GP and let them decide if it’s a concern.

Itisbetter · 04/01/2023 15:41

Sounds like it needs to be checked

FairyBatman · 04/01/2023 15:47

He needs to make a GP appointment urgently. They may also have the ability to send over pictures to help them triage how urgent it is.

AnnaMagnani · 04/01/2023 15:47

This is not a 111 issue.

Your friend needs to book to see their GP so a real life person can look at the mole, and assess any breathlessness which may well be unrelated to the mole.

SalviaOfficinalis · 04/01/2023 15:48

He needs to see his GP.
There’s no point waiting for 111 to call back as they will just tell him he needs to see his GP.

Original poster
HunkieDorie · 04/01/2023 15:55

That's ok, thank you so much everyone for your responses. Not sure why he's not going to GP. I would say typical man but I know so men who would go to GP with just a cold!! I am hoping it's not anything serious I can't help but worry. I'll advice him (again) to go to gp

OP posts:
SalviaOfficinalis · 04/01/2023 16:03

Hope he agrees to go soon OP.
I know it’s stressful, I spent ages hassling my DH to go to the GP about a mole. Luckily his was fine though.

ShamedBySiri · 04/01/2023 16:11

Not sure about your friend's symptoms OP, as others have said he needs to see his GP.

However, on the subject of moles generally, and melanoma follow up, can I advise readers that the NHS provision for skin checks is now extremely limited and it is best to go private. There are quite a few providers offering skin checks (depending where you live) and a casual look at some suggests a price in the region of £150.

I have a sister in Australia who had major surgery for melanoma and is lucky not to have had recurrence due to the staging at the time. So as a family we do have heightened awareness. Another sister had a melanoma removed from her nose.

This is her recent experience after she sought advice regarding a mole her husband had seen in her back: (edited from her email)

"they then wasted their own appointment by sending me to see a useless ‘specialist skin care nurse’ who first of all lectured me for not going to see my gp if I had concerns about a mole , and then reluctantly agreed with the private consultant who had referred me for surgery, filled in a whole new set of forms and said I’d now have to wait for yet another letter which will most likely be delayed again by strikes and Xmas rush before I know when the surgery will finally take place! It seems they can send text messages when it suits, but not to arrange appointments 🤪

When I pointed out that it’s impossible to check for moles on your own back, hence I had no reason to see my gp, if indeed a face to face appointment could have been made, she came out with some guff that the immune system is very good at coping with melanomas so there was no need to worry. Plus, the NHS no longer follows up with mole checks as it is too stressful for most patients to keep going for appointments. I said I found it reassuring and certainly not stressful- but she was having none of it - said it was new NICE guidelines based on best practice blah blah blah .

(My bold).

I have advised her to complain about the nurse who appears to need education regarding the serious nature of melanoma.

ShamedBySiri · 04/01/2023 16:17

To clarify sister in UK with melanoma on the nose, she was followed up for about three years and then it stopped.

Stunningscreamer · 04/01/2023 18:32

I second going to a private dermatologist and bypassing the GP. I went to see one for a different situation and she was amazing.

Original poster
HunkieDorie · 04/01/2023 19:27

Thank you all- the chest pain/ breathlessness is right under the area of where the mole is

OP posts:
Querty123456 · 04/01/2023 20:54

Agree. Go private if possible.

YourTruthorMine · 05/01/2023 20:17

I went to the GP with a dodgy mole recently and was referred straight away and seen within 2 weeks, NHS isn't all bad

EwwSprouts · 05/01/2023 20:25

NHS is a mixed bag. I went to the GP with a query mole on my face. She said fine, another one fine and a third keep an eye on. Went back a month later as a few people said looks bigger. She said doesn't need a referral so I asked to be referred privately as was on my face. Consultant said most politely the GP had been wrong in her assessment of all three and I should have been on a two week referral for the first one. I had it removed and no further treatment required because it was caught early.

Original poster
HunkieDorie · 07/01/2023 19:02

Hospital appointment booked Monday!

OP posts:
EwwSprouts · 07/01/2023 19:18

Good luck!

lljkk · 07/01/2023 19:30

My dad had a melanoma removed recently.
He's old & never feels great anyway, tbf.
He is on a slow slide to being weaker & less mobile.
With the melanoma, he had zero additional symptoms, just an unusual dark (very small) spot on his face.

truelove · 07/01/2023 22:43

I was diagnosed with melanoma this time last year. Dermatology reviewed the photos of the suspect mole I’d sent to the GP (I’d sent an e-consult as easier than trying to get an appointment). Suspicious mole was a stage 1b melanoma and another one they removed was a melanoma in situ. The GP had thought the mole “was nothing to worry about and it could be 6 months before a dermatology appointment came through”. I’m just so pleased dermatology reviewed my photos as I was straight onto the 2WW cancer pathway.

All I would say is if your friend is still concerned after seeing the GP, he should try a private consultation. The mole clinic are a pretty good starting point and have picked up a couple of my basal cell carcinomas in the past that I had not spotted.

kafkascastle · 07/01/2023 22:46

I have had two very quick 2 week referrals from the GP for skin cancer. Not melanoma in my case but I was seen, biopsied and treated in a very short space of time, the last one a few weeks ago.

Original poster
HunkieDorie · 08/01/2023 18:59

Thanks all for comments !

OP posts:
Original poster
HunkieDorie · 09/01/2023 19:05

Hi all, friend has been sent to hospital as doctor's couldn't see 'what it was'? Can they not tell if it is a mole at gp? Obviously getting it checked for a biopsy

OP posts:
Lindtcat · 09/01/2023 19:27

I'm my experience, dr will always send you to skin cancer specialist just to confirm. They have to look under the mole under the microscope and send for biposy etc. This is normally at the hospital. I had a mole that doctor was very sure wasn't sure cancer but she sent me anyway to be checked and all was fine.

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