Hi,

Many hospitals are now using Teledermatology as a triage system to decide which patients moles look to be benign or need to be examined in person. 

The dermascope that is used to take photos of the mole will show any change in the shape of the cell structure. This change may be because the mole is dysplastic (also known as atypical or precancerous) and it has the capacity to become malignant in the future - or the mole may already be malignant (skin cancer).

The dermatologist who reviews the photos will decide who needs to be seen in person & at the appointment they will again look at the mole with the dermascope. If they are unsure as to whether the mole is OK they will arrange for it's removal for a biopsy (usually at a later appointment).

75% of patients referred to dermatology are given a clean bill of health so it's not always skin cancer. As for when you will get an appointment? It's difficult to say as there is a huge backlog of patients waiting to be seen - some Trusts have a shorter list than others. It will also depend on which type of skin cancer it may be. If it's thought it could be a Basal Cell or Squamous Cell Carcinoma, the waiting list is much longer. This is because these are non melanoma cancers & very rarely spread so any delay in getting them removed isn't critical. If it's a possible melanoma, the average waiting time for an initial appointment used to be 2 weeks - now it can be anything from 3 to 6 weeks. 

I suggest that, if you haven't received an appointment letter within the next 7 days, give the dermatology department a ring and they may be able to give you an idea of where you are on the waiting list. You can also tell them you are happy to take a last minute cancellation (if you can drop everything to attend within a few hours). They often get cancellations so you may be lucky with an earlier appointment.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)