Can't say enough about the NHS.   Here's something I found out just today.    One of the lads at work is Romanian,  he was asking about my treatment etc. and he was  telling me when he was back home, 15 years ago he had an accident (two broken legs, one arm and wrist) and before the surgeon would operate he had to pay in cash. He even had to pay the nurses to administer drugs and change the bed. He was in hospital 5 months and he paid 7000 Euros in total.   Its changed now but that amount then was quite a bit.      It really makes you realise how good our system is. 

Catch up with you later.  Col. 

So, I went for my mole removed this morning (excisional biopsy). Needle was a tad sharp, as expected, but other than that, it was a very quick and painless procedure - much easier than I thought it would be!

Just have to wait on the results now; 4-6 weeks seems like forever!

Just wanted to update this: I got my results today and, as suspected, it was a seborrhoeic keratosis! I'm so relieved! I only had to wait a week for results - much to the surprise of the staff on the dermatology dept. - but it just shows what a caring and proactive GP can do, which I'm incredibly thankful for. 

Angie and Col, thank you so much for your responses, understanding and support; you really helped me to manage my anxiety. I wish you both the very best and will be here to talk should you ever need it.

X

Great to hear the good news.   Thanks for the kind words.  

Take care. Col.

Oh I'm so glad to hear this.

I'm sorry I didn't get notifications of your other posts, I don't know why, but I got this one. 

That's brilliant news, and thank you so much for letting us know. It's always super nice to hear good news on here. 

Go well! Xx

Great to hear your good news. 

Hi just jumping on this thread, after stalking it for a while! I had an exicision biopsy of a dark mole on my upper arm on 26th August. 

It was discussed as looking like dysplastic nevus. No-one has actually said melnoma to me, but that's my worry

It took my a very long time to get it checked as I thought I was probably making a fuss over nothing. So just filled with worry, struggling to sleep and the waiting for results feels like forever.

Is it taking longer at this time due to COVID? Could it be taking longer due to it being bad news... or good news?

Hi,

I'm sorry you are waiting for a biopsy result and it's causing you worry & stress. Did they give you any indication as to how long the results would take & how you would receive them (telephone, face to face or letter)?

Pre-Covid results would average 3 weeks, however hospitals are differing with their waiting times. Some are being slightly quicker whilst others are much slower - so the average at the moment appears to be 4 weeks. 

The time it takes doesn't signify whether it's good or bad news. The only time it may be delayed a lot longer is if they can't make a decision as to whether it's melanoma so they will send the tissue to another hospital for a second opinion. 

As you have been waiting 3 weeks I would wait until next week. If you haven't heard anything by mid week I would contact the consultant's secretary and ask if the results are back. They won't be able to tell you them but they can give you some indication as to when they will contact you. Results can sometimes be received quickly by the hospital but then be delayed because the Multi Disciplinary Team hasn't been held yet. Every result is discussed by the MDT (dermatologist, plastic surgeon, oncologist and nurses) to decide the next course of action for each patient ie. discharge if clear results, monitoring if pre-cancerous, treatment if cancerous. These meetings are only held once a week so if they occur on Thursday but the results don't come in until Friday it means almost a week delay.

I hope you aren't waiting too much longer and that the results bring you good news. Please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient)

Hi Angie

Thank you so much for your quick and detailed reply. That has helped. And having a date in mind to call them is helping me feel a little less lost and helpless too!

They said they would let me know in writing. I didn't ask for a timeframe, wish I had now!