Hi Sophie,

I know how anxious you must be, being referred & it happening so quickly. Your GP has been great in dealing with you so promptly & the 2 week referral is standard for a mole that looks suspicious. Your referral appointment is also happening slightly quicker than usual because only referrals are being seen face to face at the moment - regular check up appointments for melanoma patients are being done over the phone because of Covid, so there is more time for the dermatologist to see new referrals.

You have been given good advice as to what may happen if the dermatologist thinks the mole needs removing for a biopsy. If it needs removing, it's usually done at a different appointment & it's done as a day surgery patient. Can I just add that 75% of people referred to dermatology are given a clean bill of health, either at the referral appointment or after biopsy results are received. A couple of recent posts on this forum have been from people in your position & their biopsies have come back clear, so the odds are in your favour.

If it should turn out to be melanoma it will depend on how deep the melanoma has grown as to what treatment happens next. If early stage, like SDG3, only routine check ups will be necessary for a short period of time. If later stage, further surgery & drug treatment may be necessary, but that only occurs in a small number of new referrals.

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

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient) 

Thankyou SDG3 and AngieT for your thoughtful replies - I am sorry to hear of both of your diagnoses. 

I think I am a bit in shock as my partner (rightly or wrongly) had tried to convince me it was nothing so I attended the appointment perhaps a bit naive as to what the outcome of it would be. I’m still not really sure he entirely understands the possible severity of this. I’m also presuming he can’t come with me to the appointment due to COVID restrictions. 

Do you know if they’ll take a look at other moles? I don’t have many which is partly why I have the referral as the one on my shoulder looks completely out of place. Do they also tell you there and then what they suspect it is?

Thankyou both for taking the time to reply x

Hi Sophie,

The answer to your question regarding myself is yes if you have a face two face appointment with a Consultant, they gave me a thorough head to toe examination. 

All moles were checked under a hand held microscope and they usually will just say if they thought it didn’t look right, to be honest the only way they can diagnose a Melanoma is to remove it...

As far as COVID-19 restrictions, unfortunately at the moment some appointments will be done on a 121 bases, although it depends on the Hospital and the circumstances  

Unfortunately for me though I have just had to experience the COVID-19 restrictions first hand after being diagnosed with Secondary Lymph node Cancer  in my Neck and Primary Cancer in my Tonsils, which by the way to put you at ease has nothing to do with the Skin Cancer, and I can tell you now has been a totally different experience. 

So take care and if you need to chat about any issues that you are going through I’ve got loads of time as I’m in recovery mode after my operation...

Simon

Hi Sophie,

The answer to your question regarding myself is yes if you have a face two face appointment with a Consultant, they gave me a thorough head to toe examination. 

All moles were checked under a hand held microscope and they usually will just say if they thought it didn’t look right, to be honest the only way they can diagnose a Melanoma is to remove it...

As far as COVID-19 restrictions, unfortunately at the moment some appointments will be done on a 121 bases, although it depends on the Hospital and the circumstances  

Unfortunately for me though I have just had to experience the COVID-19 restrictions first hand after being diagnosed with Secondary Lymph node Cancer  in my Neck and Primary Cancer in my Tonsils, which by the way to put you at ease has nothing to do with the Skin Cancer, and I can tell you now has been a totally different experience. 

So take care and if you need to chat about any issues that you are going through I’ve got loads of time as I’m in recovery mode after my operation...

Simon