I'm sorry for the worry this is causing Sweetcheeks5.

We have a lot of posts on the forum about moles so hopefully some of our members who have been in a similar position will be along soon to share their experiences and advice but if you'd like to discuss any of this with one of our nurses, they're available Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m on 0808 800 4040.

We're thinking of you Sweetcheeks5 and are wishing you all the best with your referral.

Kind regards,

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi,

I know it's a shock when one GP says they look fine yet another decides to refer you. It sounds to me like the first GP who is trained in dermatology thought the moles didn't fit the NICE referral guidelines but the second GP, who doesn't have that extra training, thought they did. It's all down to interpretation and confidence and many GP's will err on the side of caution and refer - letting dermatology make the final decision. This is why 75% of patients referred to dermatology end up with a clean bill of health - their moles are either benign or dysplastic (precancerous and look suspicious but have been caught before they become malignant).

Hopefully your moles are fine & the 2nd GP is being overly cautious. Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi angie thanks for your reply Iv been going mad on this site trying to somehow find answers that I want to hear even though I know that’s not the answers. Since my referal I have an appointment booked for the 24th November and when I have gone on my nhs app I have been referred not only for melanoma but also SCC so 2 skin cancer referrals in 1! I can only assume when she took a picture of my scalp lesion and she marked it as focullites spelt wrong that when the picture went to dermatologist they have flagged it up as SCC. So with all that panic I have gone on Google and it looks like it could be nodule melanoma the pink skin colour kind. This is my 2nd cancer pathway referal in 6months and to say my mental health is swaying towards depression ain’t helping. The 1st pathway was for tonsil throat cancer which turned out to just be bad case of strep wasn’t on the right medication. But I have a feeling inside that this time I’m not going to be as luckily as it’s been 2weeks and this small pink nodule on the side of my scalp is still there it doesn’t have a head nor pus and I can’t see red lines through it, I have hair strands sticking out of it and my concern over my moles have been pushed aside compared to this scalp nodule. Im trying to stay strong and wait for my appointment and stay off Google but it’s so hard. I have 2 small children and I’m just a big fat mess :(