DH has "fast track" hospital appointment for suspicious mole [sad]

[Flyonthewindscreen]

My DH recently showed me a mole on his back which he said had suddenly got a lot bigger and was itching. It is almost the size of a 1p. I made him a GPs appointment which was last wednesday and DH reported that he had said the mole showed "two warning signs" and was referring him to hospital but that the appointment probably wouldn't be for 5 or 6 weeks. I was reassured by the 5/6 week bit as thought the doctor couldn't be concerned as obviously a non urgent appointment.

However as no appointment had arrived in post by today I phoned the GPs surgery and the secretary told me that the appointment was going out today, the GP had requested a "fast track" appointment and it would probably be for next week.

I feel totally panicked now that the GP definately suspects a melanoma. DH hates anything to do with medical stuff and so hasn't googled "suspicious moles" etc. He keeps saying, "its only skin" but I have looked it up and know that melanoma can spread.

I would be v grateful to hear from anyone else who has been through a similar experience so I know what to expect, is it likely the mole would be removd straight away at the 1st appointment?

Thanks

KamR

please don't panic. GPs have a very low index of suspicion for moles & will refer practically everything they see on the 2 week cancer wait scheme. this does NOT mean they think your dh has cancer, merely that he will be seen quickly. this is a good thing, honestly.

my dp is regularly referred as he has family history of skin cancer & the dermatologists would always rather see something slightly dodgy right at the beginning. last time, he had mole excema! i have been referred too, for a mole i was slightly suspicious about. the gp didn't think it was particularly serious, but i still got an appointment within 10 days. the dermatologist agreed but removed it anyway.

ok, so this long ramble is mostly telling you not to panic. be reassured your dh is in the system & will be seen soon & hopefully it will be nothing.

Don't worry about the 'fast-tracking' aspect, this in itself doesn't mean anything. It simply means it is more of a priority for a dermatologist than another referral such as (for example) acne or something that doesn't have the potential to be serious. Anything that has the possibility of being serious (eg moles, breast lumps) will always be seen quickly. I went to the GP about a mole I was worried about and was seen by a dermatologist within 2 weeks. (It was cut out there and then, sent away for analysis and came back fine.)

The GP is just being thorough and of course it's 'better safe than sorry' - sign of a good GP.

I hope everything is ok for you & DH.

I had a GP who was qualified to remove moles and other minor surgery, so had a dodgy mole removed from my back at the Practice. It's a weird sensation - you can feel exactly what they're doing, but obviously with the anaesthetic it doesn't hurt. Then they sent the mole off for biopsy - can't remember how long the results took but in my case I was fine, no cancer.

My understanding is that while yes, they can spread, they don't spread quickly and are usually quite contained. And it sounds as if your DH acted quickly as soon as he noticed it had changed which again bodes well. So don't panic, and don't Google stuff like this - it will do nothing to reassure you. Good Luck

Thanks for the replies - it is reassuring to know that the 2 week "fast track" is routine for suspect moles.

Yes same here I had a mole on my leg that was growing/itching/changing colour so they got me straight into skin clinic, whipped it out on that same day (very traumatic for me as I was not expecting it to happen right then and was on my own, so go with him if you can!) and then two weeks later got results which were inconclusive (scary) then they had a meeting about my mole and decided that any pre-cancerous changes that had happened in it had been nipped in the bud by taking it out so no worries.

I had to go sit in that flaming clinic for two hours on my youngest dd's first birthday, which was also the day before my final year exams started, grrr!

But all completely worth it to be sure.