Hi,

Sadly there is a back log of dermatology and plastic surgery appointments and they are causing these long delays. I'm assuming the referral to a consultant is to a Plastic Surgeon for the growths to be removed for biopsy? Most hospitals are taking at least 4 weeks for this surgery whilst some are longer. They only things I can suggest is that you tell them you are happy to take a last minute cancellation (if you are able to) or, if you have insurance or sufficient funds, you can afford to have it done privately. However, even the private surgeons have a waiting list so may still take a few weeks.

I know how anxious you must be. Please know that it's very unlikely that the waiting time will have any negative effect if it is skin cancer. Try to distract yourself by keeping busy and hopefully you will get an appointment sooner than anticipated. Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi Paul. Sorry to hear you're going through the mill at the mo.

I had a similar experience after visiting a dentist for a tumour in my jaw and the advice is this - go to A&E. I was put on a referral pathway that would have taken weeks and decided to visit A&E, everything was fast tracked from there.

to all that might say 'don't put pressure on the service' - sometimes it needs to be done. In my case it did