Hi. My boyfriend had a skin biopsy taken on the 12th Feb (a week today). He has his results appointment on the 11th March. But I was wondering if it is anything serious would they get in touch sooner before his appointment?
They only get in touch with patients sooner if their results have come back quicker than expected, whether positive or negative for skin cancer, so don't panic if they call with an earlier appointment. A 4 week wait for results is just below the average waiting time that skin biopsy patients are waiting in the UK at the moment - the average being 6 weeks - so your hospital histology department's workload may be slightly less busy than others.
Once the consultant receives them, the results then have to be discussed at the MDT (Multi Disciplinary Meeting - Dermatology, Plastic Surgery, Oncology & Specialist Nurses) - this happens with all results, whether clear or positive - so that they can agree on a course of action (discharge or follow up for monitoring or for further treatment). The MDT is only held once a week so this is what sometimes means a long wait for the next appointment!
Good luck and please let us know how your boyfriend gets on,
Thank you for your recent reply it is greatly appreciated.
The only reason I ask in regards to the biospy results timing is that one of the girls I work with, her husband had melanoma - once he had the initial biopsy, they called him back within 4 days of the mole being removed. Also Andrew's mum is a nurse & she knows one of the girls that works within the dermatology ward - who also confirmed if anything serious they will contact sooner. So I do not know what to think.
I cannot imagine or begin to realise on how you must feel or still feel - you have done so well & i really admire you for that.
Andrew initially had his dermatologist appiontment last week to get the 2 mole(s) removed. Initially the doctor done an urgent referal, so with his first consulation with the dermatologist, she confirmed they both needed to be removed but all she said was that they did not look good. She did not give us any indication on what it may or could be so we have been left in the dark a little.
If you do not mind me asking Angie, did you have any other symptoms other than the moles? any information would be really appreciated, as I am sick with worry.
It may well be that your husband's dermatology clinic deal with the positive results quicker than the negative ones. Clinics tend to give an appointment for 4 to 6 weeks to give the results plenty of time to reach them rather than as a guideline to the result. I think the gentleman who had his results back within 4 days may have either had his mole removed some time ago (sadly more patients means the waiting time is getting longer) or he went privately or he was already under dermatology. I haven't heard of anyone getting their results through that quickly these days.
I know it will be very worrying if your boyfriend gets called back earlier but try & look at it from a positive angle 1) it may not necessarily be melanoma but dysplastic moles (pre-cancerous) which they like to remove & then keep an eye on the patient, especially checking any other moles they have or 2) if melanoma, he is being treated quickly. Speed is very important with melanoma - the speed of first noticing the mole(s) and then the speed of removal & any subsequent treatment. The quicker the treatment the better the outlook. If it is melanoma & it's early stage the odds of having no further problems are 90 to 95% so don't despair.
With regard to my melanoma - I had no symptoms with regards to the mole. It was an existing one that slowly turned very dark over the year that I didn't get it checked out (my fault entirely)! After removal & a Stage 1b diagnosis I was monitored for 5 years & discharged. Sadly, 8 years post discharge, I found a painless, hard lump in my groin which was diagnosed as the original melanoma having spread to my groin node. It was also found in a pelvic node when I had a full node clearance from my groin & pelvis. Other than finding the lump I had no symptoms at all. The only time melanoma causes symptoms is when it has spread to the internal organs or bones or causes tumours under the skin. Melanoma can't be diagnosed in a blood test either - the Aussies are currently working on a blood test that hopefully will do this.
Waiting for procedures or results is the hardest part of dealing with this - once you have an answer it actually takes a weight off your shoulders, even if it's cancer, because you now know what treatment is going to be undertaken & you feel that you have some control over the situation whereas you've been in limbo up to then. The dermatologist wouldn't have given any indication as to what they thought about the moles as only a biopsy can give a 100% diagnosis. It's been known for them to get it wrong sometimes. My consultant thought that one of my moles was a basal cell carcinoma - when it was removed it was found to be a dermatafibroma (calcified insect bite)! That's how difficult it is for experts to tell sometimes!
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