Hello! I'm 26 and just been diagnosed with BCC on my forehead/hairline.
I was diagnosed through the tele-dermatologist via a photo after being referred by my gp.
I rang my gp who told me I had BCC and would hear from my local cancer department at the hospital to arrange an appointment to discuss surgery. They then gave me a number to ring.
I rang the number and they had no record of me
I have severe social anxiety and have rang my gp twice and each time either been told to ring back as the person from referalls wasn't in or couldn't get through.
I'm absolutely terrified that something has been missed but my gp aren't helping as I can't speak to who I need to!
Hi Emz95 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
Waiting for appointment dates can be very stressful and in your case it's been made more so because you haven't been able to speak to anybody at the hospital or your GP's practice.
It's also natural to worry "that something has been missed" but when you go for your appointment at the hospital it will give you the opportunity to get the dermatologist to check you from head to toe and for you to point out any particular areas that you're worried about.
I'm not sure from your post if the tele-dermatologist appointment you had was at your hospital or with your GP. You also haven't said how long ago this was.
If the appointment was with your hospital, I know from experience that it can be a few weeks before you'll get an appointment letter from them to have the BCC removed. If it's been a few weeks since you had the appointment you could give the number you've been given a call tomorrow and see if you've appeared on the list yet.
If the appointment was with your GP it depends whether they've referred you under what's known as the "two-week wait" or just as a general referral. If the former then the hospital will be aiming to see you within two weeks of receiving the referral, if the latter then it could be quite a lot longer.
I know it's normal to be scared when you've been told that you have cancer but BCCs are usually very slow growing and rarely spread.
Unfortunately with any type of cancer there are periods of waiting for appointments, then waiting for results, etc so it's a good idea to find something that helps you take your mind off things. For me I spend as much time as possible doing things that I enjoy. Do you have any hobbies or interests you could spend doing? Other people find mindfulness really good and, if that's something that you're interested in, clicking here will give you more information.
Hopefully you won't have too much longer to wait before you get your appointment through
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
