In February I went to the doctor about a weird mole that had appeared on the back of my shoulder. For ages I thought it was a recurring spot but then it got bigger, turned a greyish pinkish brown colour (not like any mole I’ve ever had - of which there are many!). It’s not big, the doctor said about 4mm and said probably a BCC and made a non-urgent referral to dermatology.
Went for the appointment at a medical centre last Thursday 27th which was in my area but a good half hour drive away and so had to take a fair amount of time off work to attend due to not working in my local area. No problem. Had teledermatology photos taken with the magnifying device on the camera. Technician said 4-6 week wait don’t bother chasing til mid May. A dermatologist will look at the photos and make a decision on what to do next.
Yesterday I get a letter dated 31st saying this centre has referred me to 2WW Dermatology RAS in another trust/area and if I don’t hear by 2nd April to call the number for an appointment.
So I call today because I haven’t had one and when I ask what this appointment next Wednesday is for she says it’s to take photos. When I said I’ve already had them done she said they wouldn’t accept another trust’s photos and then later said the team at the clinic I was sent to didn’t have the right equipment/staff to do teledermatology anyway so no dermatologist will have looked at them.
I cannot get through to anyone who can tell me what the hell is going on (my GP medical secretary/ original referral clinic/ new referral clinic). I don’t understand why I was sent to the first place if they can’t do anything about it. Why would this clinic have referred me to a different trust knowing I’d have to start again? Has a dermatologist actually looked at it and found something concerning hence the 2WW referral? I thought BCC wasn’t urgent.
Not sure what I’m hoping for really. Has anyone else had this experience? Is this normal procedure for a suspected BCC? Is this likely to turn out to be nothing despite the terrifying 2WW letter with no further explanation? I was under the impression teledermatology was supposed to improve timescales and unnecessary appointments but if I’m just going to have to do the same thing again this seems a ridiculous waste of time and resources.