Skin cancer and NHS referral.

I am 24, mixed race and Female.  A lump first appeared above my eye brow 2 years ago, I went to the gp and it was dismissed, I was told to come back if it got bigger, I did, two more times.

 In January/Feburary it became crater like in appearance I again visted the gp who said it was a cyst and refered my case to plastics, hearing nothing for a month I chased up the referral to be told there was a problem with funding.

I visited the gp once again to find out that plastics wouldn't remove anything until they knew what it was, I was then refered to a dermatologist and was given an appointment in May.

The dermatologist asked me a few questions and examined the crater however couldn't diagnose it so put me forward for a biopsy.

The biopsy appointment was only a couple of weeks later however the crater had grown further outwards, I was told that id receive a letter with details and the next step in 3 weeks.

5 weeks have passed, the crater now has a small horn growing from the center and  I've just received a letter for a dermatologist appointment.

As you can imagine I am incredibly anxious and depressed because of the disfigurement it has created, the possibility that removal will now include my whole eyebrow and how much less disfigurement it could have left if taken seriously earlier ( if it is even being taken seriously now). I still haven't received a diagnosis. 

Perhaps somebody has can give me advice on how to navigate services better or how to cope with this because I truly feel horrible.

  • Hi Holly95,

    I'm so sorry that you have received such bad service from both your GP and the hospital. Sadly the GP is the one that has caused the main delay as they should really have referred you to dermatology first & then the dermatologist would get Plastics to remove it for biopsy, as is now happening at this late stage. 

    I'm assuming that your future appointment is for the surgical removal for biopsy? Or have they done a partial removal & the appointment is for the results? If it's for the results and the appointment is a while away, I would contact the dermatologist's secretary and ask, due to the continued disfigurement & where it is, if the appointment can be brought forward. 

    Sadly the hospital will be moving slowly due to a lack of dermatologists (300 vacancies in the NHS at the moment), the school summer holidays taken by staff and the halt on overtime by the consultants (a pension complaint that's featured in the news). You can always complain to PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) - there will be one at the hospital. It's worth contacting them to see if there is any way to speed up your treatment after this dreadful delay.

    Good luck and I hope you get treatment quickly,

    Angie (melanoma patient)