Thanks Jolamine x

No problem.

Jolamine xx

Hi,

I was just wondering if you could give me peace of mind as you seem to know what you're talking about, and I honestly havnt got a clue.

my problem is that I saw my GP say beginning of February about something growing and changing daily on my back. It started as what looked like a skin tag or papilloma, but the doctor gave me an urgent referral on the day to see a dermatologist as she couldn't be sure it wasn't serious or what it was.

fast forward to today, when I went to the appointment, and I've walked out not feeling like I know any better what's going on with me - worth mentioning that I've been getting sick over and over for over a year, with no more than a day between, I lost over 2 stone in January alone (even though I've been trying for years to and have just randomly started dropping it for no reason - obviously concerning me), I havnt checked my weight since then as I started to obsessively check it as it was averaging 2lb a day and that didn't seem right.

anyway, the dermatologist saw me for less than 3 minutes  total and had wrote in signed and closed my file before even checking my back where the growth is - then said well if you have no symptoms, to which I said you havnt asked me if I have any symptoms, which he just shrugged off, then said he wants me to come back in 3 months time to check it and see?

i just don't understand what I'm supposed to have taken from the appointment at all, I still don't know what's wrong with me or what's on my back and it is driving me insane thinking about it.

im a 26 year old mum of 2, and I had to fight the bit out with my doctors for at least 3 years after having my youngest son, because I have a severe prolapse and because of my age, none of them would take me seriously and were telling me I was imagining it - until I point blank asked for a female doctor and told her to get her looking glass up there and so she did, I was right. They sent me to physio, and I was discharged with exactly the same problem as I started with, as all they did was check the extent of the prolapse (it's a full pelvic floor prolapse, uterus, bladder, rectal, and front and back vaginal walls) and give me a pessary ring - which is something they give to women 65+ with a prolapse. They asked when they finally believed me about the prolapse when I asked her to check, if I wanted more kids or if I would be ok with a hysterectomy - and because my eldest son is disabled and my life is stressful on the daily, I won't be having anymore kids, so that's what I told her. That was 2 years ago and they've just dismissed the thought and continued to let me struggle on with no care.

i guess the point I'm making is, I'm scared incase I'm being fobbed off again by these doctors now too just because of my age, and how timid I am as a person.

i have nobody so I go to my appointments alone, and I think that and the fact I'm such a timid smiley person, and with my age, I just don't think doctors are taking me seriously.

Could you give me some advice on what I should be doing next and why my appointment just seemed so short today? I was out of the clinic front doors 10 minutes before my appointment was even due to be and I was only 15 minutes early, then had to fill in a form, so I know I was literally only seen for a minute or 2.

any help or advice would be appreciated as my brain is fried :(

thanks in advance!

Rebecca x

Hi Rebecca,

I am sorry to hear that you feel no further forward despite having been to your appointment with the dermatologist. It sounds as if the dermatologist is happy that the lesion on your back is not malignant and, she is being cautious by bringing you back in 3 months to check that it hasn’t grown any further.

I had something similar on my back last year. My GP referred me to the dermatologist, but she also referred me to medical imaging. The photo of my lesion was sent to the dermatologist who then put it in order of priority with all the other cases she’d received. When I did see her, she just looked at my back and said that all was fine. She didn’t do any tests at all.

It never does to be too meek and mild at these appointments. Write a list of questions you have before your next visit and hopefully this will force the dermatologist to be more communicative with you. Don’t worry about producing the list at your appointment. Most of us get overawed at the time and forget to ask important questions. Many of us use lists to ensure that we don’t overlook anything.

I hope that all goes well for you and, that you have no further problems with your back. I’m pleased to say that I haven’t.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi all. 
I can see that these are fairly old posts. Though I also wanted to ask how long urgent biopsy results ? Melignant Melanoma should take? 

I had a very quick referral to the dermatology specialist, who strongly suspected my large lesion on my upper back was a MM. She then referred me for an urgent excision and said the results would be around 2 weeks.

Within a week and a bit I then had an urgent excision and they said policy was 3 to 8 weeks, though it was fast tracked , so I should recieve mine quicker. GP said 2 to 3 weeks also. 
 

it's just coming up to 4 weeks since my procedure and following advice, I was told to ring and just ask for an update. 
 I wish I hadn't, as I felt a pain to them for doing so. Only to be told that they hadn't been reported on and they take 8 weeks, do not ring again, as I will be told by letter when they are ready.

This does seem a long time scale for the fast track system and I know they are probably very busy people. Just feeling a little dispondent now. 
 

Many thanks. 

Hi Rosie,

A very warm welcome to our forum. I am sorry to hear that you are having to wait so long for your biopsy results. This seems to vary a lot from one hospital to the next, especially in the current pandemic. When I had a biopsy of my leg and face I was told that the results would be back in 4 weeks, but when the appointment came through, it was for 4 months.

I had an appointment to get some of the stitches in my face removed a week after my biopsy and when I mentioned this to the nurse, she went off to find my consultant. He phoned his secretary and was able to give me the results there and then.

Waiting for results is always an anxious time. I hope that your results come through soon. Eight weeks doesn't seem an abnormal return time, although I know that the waiting time seems interminable.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine

Thank you for your post. I should really should be more patient! 
On a brighter note, the house is spotless and the garden is immaculate

The not knowing is the worst, though I hope you had positive news from your results! 
xx

Hi Rosie,

It's hard to be patient when so much hangs on the outcome. I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer in the past 11 years, but have also had 3 skin biopsies for what my dermatologist and plastic surgeon were pretty sure were cancerous lesions. Fortunately, in all cases they were clear. I cannot fully express what a huge relief this was. The not knowing is terrible and unfortunately, our vivid imagination tends to lead us to all sorts of dark places.

I hope that your results don't take much longer to come through and that it is good news when they do. Don't let the frosty reception you got when you phoned put you off phoning again in another 2 weeks. Sometimes we've got to stand up for ourselves in these situations.

Now that all the cleaning and gardening is done, it's time to do something more pleasurable. Please keep in touch.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hey, 

im in a similar situation, I had my first ever smear a few weeks ago and that's come back HPV positive so they've told me that likelyhood is I will develop cervical cancer it's just waiting for it to make itself known.

on top of that doctor found a lump in my breast, went to hospital just over 3 weeks ago they done scans and biopsies but no ones got back too me yet, I'm not too sure what I'm meant to do now, I don't actually have a registered gp at the moment and last time I rang up as they told me they would have the results within a week, they just said they aren't able to tell me anything and that the consultant would be ringing me...two weeks later I've still not heard anything from anyone. The waiting makes it so much worse and my boob is just so achey! 
 

Any advice or tips are really appreciated x

Hi Clee,

A very warm welcome to our forum. If you haven't heard anything by now, you might be as well phoning up your consultant's secretary again. Make sue to tell her that you were told that the results would be back within the week and that you are still waiting. If you are told that the consultant will be contacting you again, ask when this is likely to happen and say that you have already been told this, but that you still haven't received a phone call.

Waiting for results is always a worriesome time and I hope that you hear soon. Please let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx