Faster treatment privately?

Thank you latchbrook I'm starting to fear that the pathology labs in the midlands are really busy, especially at this time of the year when people generally take time off for holidays and also because of the upcoming strikes which might make an impact. 

Thanks Rosalinda It's impossible to tell, isn't it, which moles are really going to be a concern. That's why if it were up to me I would err on the side of caution and get everything biopsied. I'm glad you've had some luck with getting things done on the NHS.

Thank you for the heads up about the app. I will look into that. 

Private treatment wouldn't necessarily get you better treatment than the NHS. Well, that's my experience. Of course, if you have the biopsy privately and find that it's not melanoma then it may well be worth it. Ask how long an NHS biopsy will take. Privately, you'll still need an assessment appointment and then wait for a biopsy and then wait for the biopsy results.

I saw my GP and within 2 weeks I had an appointment at my local hospital. Two weeks' later I had the first assessment and had a biopsy within another two weeks. It was about three weeks later that I had a second, deeper, biopsy -- and surgery was within four weeks. I can't complain with the NHS. Perhaps my hospital is better than others?

However, the after-treatment would be tremendously expensive privately -- should, of course, you need any!

IF you have melanoma, and they consider it metatastic after the biopsy, then they will give surgery on the lymph nodes.

Hi there I went privately for mine. I had a small mole on my upper arm that seemed darker in colour.  The initial consultation was £160.  The consultant did a full biopsy tje following week which was £800.  Unfortunately it came back as a 2a melanoma (the results took 3 weeks and i was told at a face to face appt.   I needed a wide excision which was done the following week at the private hospital.  I got the results the following week telling me it was all clear and thankfully hadn't spread.   The wle op and follow ups, dressings etc cost ,£2600. A lot of money but it was all dealt with from start to finish in around 6 weeks.  I had taken out insurance around 10 months ago but didn't think it would be covered as a new policy but the majority was.  The consultant did say that he could do it on the NHS for me but it would have taken longer.  I am now under the NHS dermatologist and will see him every 3 months.  Good luck with everything.  Sending lots of love and positive thoughts xx

Thanks Barbican . I'm glad you didn't have much of a wait with the NHS. In the end I got my biopsy results MUCH faster than what they predicted, so that's good. And even better, they came back as my mole wasn't anything dangerous. I'm now thinking maybe I should look into private insurance, although maybe anything related to moles would now be a preexisting condition and not covered. Who knows. 

Jobo I'm so happy to hear they got all of it and it hadn't spread. And bonus that your insurance covered most of it. To got from consultation to WLE in six weeks is incredible. Yeah, I can imagine on the NHS it would have taken much longer.

I just wanted to add an update. The NHS doctor that did my mole excision also works privately and I went to do a follow-up with him on Saturday (to look at other moles while I waited for results of the one I had removed.) He was able to look up my biopsy results and, surprisingly, they were back already, only 11 days later. It was such a massive relief when he told me the mole was a dermatofibroma, something that rarely turns cancerous. The swollen armpit and the year of being on immunosuppressants combined with this mole all looked so grim, and I think are the reason I got seen maybe faster than I would have been. I don't know how the NHS would have handled treatment but I'm really glad that the projected 6-8 week wait for biopsy results didn't materialise. I'm incredibly relieved about this one and I'm grateful for all of you who have given me advice over the last few weeks. Thank you. 

Ive been told that biopsie results taking longer privayely as shortage of pathologists so private and nhs using same labs. Mine was removed immediately as it was melanoma. 

Dawn1001 oh wow I didn't know there was a shortage of pathologists :-( I'm glad your mole was seen to quickly. Hope you're ok. 

Mine was melanoma so waiting for awaiting further surgery and lymph node biopsy. But optimistic