I'm based in Wales and had a small mole excised for biopsy yesterday after a dermatologist advised it for peace of mind. I was shocked to be told that there was a 12 week wait for the results, even for urgent cases. I told her that I was going on a long trip abroad (a few months) in early August and she seemed to wave it off and said it should be fine. I'm not sure why she seemed to think it would be fine, whether the results could come back quicker or whether she hadn't realised that early August was actually just under 12 weeks from now.

I'm hoping my biopsy will come back clear since the mole only had one or two atypical features and both my GP and dermatologist didn't seem massively concerned, both seemed to move me to the next stages for 'peace of mind' rather than because they were alarmed by the lesion (although I'm assuming i was referred to dermatology on the 2 week urgent scheme since this they contacted me for an appt within 2 weeks of referral). However, I am really worried that I'm not going to hear anything until soon before or, worse, after I travel and it turns out I need a WLE or further treatment and I'm out of the country. Equally, I'm hesitant to cancel or rearrange plans (losing lots of money) to stay at home and find out I'm all clear.

Whilst I'm optimistic that the results will come back sooner than 12 weeks like the dermatologist who performed my excision seemed to suggest, I've seen some stories about people actually waiting longer than the expected time and getting nowhere with chasing the office or their GP. What can I do in this situation? My current plan was going to be to chase it up maybe 6-7 weeks from now in the hope that it would give them enough time to bring me in and arrange treatment (if needed) if they are able to speed things up due to my situation, but I'm obviously aware that there are lots of other people anxiously awaiting results and I'm no more entitled to getting mine quickly than they are.

Sorry for the long post- advice would be much appreciated on how I can handle this!