I’m new here… waiting for my first appointment

Hi Shortie and a very warm welcome to our corner of the online community.

I'm sorry to read that you have a dodgy mole and it's natural to leap to the worse case scenario, ie it's melanoma. However, lots of dodgy moles are just atypical moles and let's keep everything crossed that yours is too.

Before I come up with questions for you to ask at your appointment next week, can I ask who this appointment is with please as that will shape the questions you might want to ask? For example, is it with your GP or have you already seen your GP and he's referred you to the dermatology clinic at your local hospital?

I'm afraid the Community Guidelines don't allow the sharing of medical photos as no one here is medically qualified to comment.

Anne

Hi Anne

Thankyou for your response and understand about the photos. 
My appointment next week is with my GP, I have been online and followed the ABCDE steps to understand which type my mole looks to be and if it’s just a mole or something more. It looks to be Asymmetry which is why I have made the appointment and see where to go from there. 
Also my husband took a photo of it about 6 months ago and it was tiny then, about 4-5 mm diameter now it’s about triple the size which is also why I’m concerned. 

Hi again

You've done absolutely the right thing in making an appointment with your GP to get this mole looked at.

If the GP is at all concerned they will refer you to dermatology at your local hospital. Some GPs have the same instrument that dermatologists use called a dermatoscope. It's basically a handheld microscope which allows them to see the mole in greater detail.

If the GP says that they're going to refer you I'd ask:

1. Which hospital am I being referred to
2. How soon should I get an appointment
3. How will I get the appointment, ie will dermatology admin phone me, send a letter or email
4. Is there a phone number for the admin team at dermatology that I could have so that I can chase them if I don't hear within the timeframe
5. Will the appointment be with a dermatologist or will it be at a skin dermoscopy clinic. The latter is where photos are taken of the mole which are then reviewed by a consultant later and a decision made about whether they then want to see you in person or if they're happy that it's just an atypical mole

I hope that helps and I'm sure you'll have some questions that you've thought of yourself.

Do pop back and let me know how it goes.

Anne

Hi

I have been to see my GP this morning and straight away she said it does look very suspicious and is referring me to the hospital.
I showed her a picture of what it looked like 6 months ago so she could see the difference and it’s more than doubled in size. She said it’s very irregular in shape, dark in colour and raised which is why she says it’s very suspicious 

now to sit and wait for the appeal letter, hope it’s not too long. 

Did the GP tell you how quickly your appointment should come through?

We're all different but I find carrying on with my normal routine plus spending time doing things that I enjoy helps to keep my mind from wandering off onto the 'what ifs'.

((hugs))

Hi 

My GP said I should be seen in the next 2 weeks. This afternoon I had a message with a copy of the referral and it says if I have not received my appointment by the 15th I am to call them and book it in myself. 
Right now my head is all over the place but keeping busy with my work. 

Lucy x

Bit of an update - received an appointment for this morning at 9am. Went along with my husband and the consultant I saw was amazing. She took photos and measured the mole and it is around 8mm and confirmed it is very abnormal in colour and shape too. She advised to remove it so have since had this removed today too and now has to wait 6-8 weeks for the results. She’s pretty confident it is melanoma but not on the stage if it’s 1,2,3 or 4

That's great that you were able to have it removed immediately and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a benign result. 

Remember, until it's looked at in the pathology labs no one, not even consultants, can be sure whether it's melanoma or not.

I've had two removed, the first the consultant was confident that it was nothing to worry about and it turned out to be an amelanotic melanoma, and the second the consultant thought was a melanoma turned out to just be an atypical mole!

Anne