Hi Jistincase78, 

iam a 36 year old mother of 2. At the beginning of this year we noticed a brown stripe I had on my nail since I was 14 (damaged in art class at school) had became darker and wider. I went to the Gp, was referred to dermatology and from there refered to plastics. Biopsy was taken at the beginning of lockdown, I was called 2 weeks later and advised it was melanoma in situ. I've had a further 4 surgeries on my right hand ring finger. Now no further treatment required. I feel this is a good outcome, I'm a bit self conscious about the look of my finger but in the grand scheme of things it's not really important. 
 

I have spent many a night googling the worst of what could have been. Please stay positive, and take comfort in knowing you have started the ball rolling and it could be something simple. 
 

I hope it all goes well 

Hi, I'm in a similar situation to your husband. I had what I thought was a bruise appear on my big toenail overnight about 6 weeks ago. I hadn't had any trauma about it but wasn't concerned so did nothing. Then about 9 days ago, I saw my consultant dermatologist for my ongoing psoriasis treatment and she noticed it and was very concerned. She told me that I need an urgent biopsy by a plastic surgeon and that she would be referring me on the 2 week cancer pathway. I have my appointment with the plastic surgeon tomorrow.I told her that I had PMI but she told me to stick with the NHS until I get a diagnosis as she suspected it would be quicker as a lot of the private clinics close for 2 weeks over Christmas and some of the private hospitals currently have reduced clinics as they are sharing premises with NHS clinics due to CoVid. Therefore it might be worth you husband getting an NHS referral too.

Hi thank you for your reply. I'm so sorry you had melanoma but pleased you have had it removed now need no further treatment. What a horrible time for you. I've never been so terrified about something in my life and just wish it wasn't this time of year this was happening so we could get seen without delay. 

Hi Tracey

thank you so much for your reply. He's ringing the private insurance this morning to see what they have and if nothing soon he will also ring the nhs gp to try and get a referral. 
mite frustrating that we will have to go via dermatology first to get a referral to plastics. Did you wait long between the two referrals for your appointment? I feel it's going to be weeks before we get anywhere. Did you have to have Covid test before they booked you in for biopsy? 
 

sending lots of luck for your appointment. Really hope it's nothing serious. Please update when you can. 
 

lisa 

Hi Lisa,

I was slightly luckier that the Dermatologist spotted it and not the GP so I skipped that stage. I saw the Dermatologist on Thursday 10 Dec and had a phone call on the Monday to book the appointment with the plastic surgeon. I'm not 100% certain I will get the biopsy today or whether it will be just a consultation. The nurse told me to get a lift to the hospital in case he decided to do biopsy today in clinic but also be prepared that I might have to come back another day. I just want it done asap! I haven't had to had a CoVid test.

Good luck with your calls today.

Tracey

Just an update. He has a dermatologist appointment on Wednesday evening but they've said they won't be able to do any biopsy if needed until the new year :-( 

worrying so much as know that time is vital if this is melanoma.  Every week counts with getting a diagnosis. We think he's had this Mark about 3 weeks so it could be at least 6 before getting a biopsy :-( 

Well today's appointment seemed a total waste of time! They won’t do biopsy in clinic so I've got to wait for another appointment. I’m on the urgent list so might be between Christmas & New Year but more likely to be in January. Biopsy results then take 3-4 weeks. He told me not to worry and then gave me an MacMillan leaflet on melanomas. All he did was take my history which I'm sure he could have done over the phone and took another photo which is the same as the dermatologist did over 10 days ago!

Ah Tracey I'm so sorry. What a waste of everyone's time and disappointing to have to wait again. Fingers crossed you get seen before January as the waiting is agonising. I was thinking they will probably have to do a Covid test a couple days  before the biopsy - isn't it an operation of sorts to remove some or all of the nail to get to the nail bed? I spoke to my dermatologist again online today (he removed a mole I had which luckily was non cancerous) he's been looking at the photo of my husbands toe.  He said that on the nhs after being seen under 2 week rule they have to start treatment within 31 days of first being seen regardless of the time of year.  He also said that although 31 days sounds a long time that biology doesn't move that quickly so not to worry if we have to wait a week or two longer than we hoped. He also said that although he can't confirm everything will be ok without a biopsy  he would be very surprised if a melonoma is diagnosed (I think because they are quite rare) 

I hope that makes you feel a bit better. It helped me tonight as I've been having anxiety attacks all day. 
we have also on his recommendation contacted the go surgery and have a telephone appointment tomorrow to ask for a 2 week rule referral on the nhs so if the private appointment is going to take a while for biopsy we have that one that might come through quicker.

this time of year is a horrible time to be waiting on tests to be done especially during Covid but I've been told to only panic when there's something to definitely panic about and without a diagnosis we don't know that there is definitely something to panic about. It's really hard advice to follow especially when you're naturally anxious anyway but I've been trying to stay occupied and keep off google. I feel a bit better tonight that things are in motion. Your appointment is too and you may get a phone call with a date in the next few days and you'll feel better having that date. 
 

keep in touch. 
 

Thanks for replying Lisa, that is reassuring. He did explain about the surgery today so I suppose that was worthwhile. I hadn't really thought much about that part as I was so disappointed! He said that as long as the rules don't change again - we are already in tier 4 - a CoVid test is not required as it is done under a local anaesthetic as a day case. They inject a number of times around the nail to numb it and then remove it. Sometimes they can tell immediately that it is nothing suspicious - if it is all on the nail and nothing on the skin - but if anything is in the skin, they will shave off some for the biopsy.

I'm glad you are feeling less anxious and I hope you can enjoy Christmas x