I am 65, and I recently found a scab on my back which bled profusely when I was touching it and subsequently knocked it off.
I live on my own, and due to the CoronaVirus crisis I haven’t seen my partner for over 6 weeks, or she may well have spotted it whilst we were together, There was no way I could have seen it, and I had to set my iPad to the video setting and then pose with my back to it in order to eventually take a still picture to look at.
i rang my GP practice the next morning, and they asked me to send the photo and said they’d ring me when they’d had the chance to have a look.
On calling me, the Nurse Practitioner said she was concerned that the wound could be Melanoma, and that she would make an urgent 2 week referral for me to be seen in the Dermatology Department of a local hospital.
I suffer from health anxiety, and my life has now become a day long round of worry and depressing thoughts of a positive diagnosis and that it will be Stage 4 due to the fact that I could have had this for a very long time and that it has spread throughout my body which will lead to a quick death.
It will be a week tomorrow (Wednesday) since I first became aware of this, and even though I am on a two week referral, I am worried that it could be weeks before I am seen because of the mounting backlog in general referrals in the NHS due to the Covid crisis.
is there anything at all that you way to me that might help me, please, at this time, as I am wearing myself out with worry and am unable to take any pleasure out of anything just now.
Kind regards and grateful thanks for any help that you can give me
Graham
Hi Graham and a very warm welcome to the online community
I don't think there's a person in this group who won't identify with the worry you're feeling waiting to be seen by a consultant. The trick is to find some form of distraction or to only allow yourself to think about it for a set amount each day, say 10 minutes.
We all have different ways of distracting ourselves and you need to find one that works best for you. I'd normally say things like meet up with friends or indulge in your hobbies but I realise that's not quite as easy at the moment with social distancing. However, you can still make yourself a cup of coffee or grab a beer and sit down to talk to friends via Skype, Facetime, etc.
Lots of people use mindfulness apps and clicking here will take you to the NHS page on mental health apps with links to ones they recommend, some of which are free. You might also benefit from looking at this information on how to ease your worry when waiting for tests and results.
Finding a way of coping now will stand you in good stead because if the consultant wants to remove your lesion then you'll be first waiting for surgery and then waiting for results. You could have another couple of weeks waiting for surgery with the results normally taking anywhere between 4-6 weeks to come back depending on how busy the pathology labs are.
Having been diagnosed with melanoma over 3 years ago I'm now passed the point of waiting for diagnosis but I still see someone every 3 months for check-ups. I'm not saying that I never worry that the melanoma might come back or that they might find something at my check-up but I've learnt to enjoy the now and not worry about something that might never happen.
Do come back and let me know how your consultation goes
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Graham
I'm just getting in touch to see how you are and to see if you've had your appointment with dermatology yet. If you've been, how did you get on?
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Oh, that's great news Graham! I hope you've had a little celebration, albeit at home 
I'm very well, thanks for asking. I get out for an hours walk most days and seem to find something to keep me occupied for the rest of the time. Had a go at making iced buns today as I've bought a bread maker. My husband has given them the thumbs up so I think I'll be making them again 
Look after yourself
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Ooh... iced buns and a glass of wine. Now that sounds like a winning combination.
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
