jeanninem
Junior Member
Posts: 97 
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Post by jeanninem on Dec 28, 2015 0:31:21 GMT
I think the issue of seeing a GP is that the mole won't be biopsied. Many GPs don't know what cancerous lesions, rashes, etc look like. They can be really hard to diagnose and sometimes GPs adopt a wait and watch plan of care - which is what you don't want with a mole that has changed. Having said that, just know that although the mole has changed, it doesn't mean it's melanoma.
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Post by moveablefeast on Dec 28, 2015 0:36:01 GMT
Why would going to a GP be such a bad thing? If you can't get in to see a dermatologist and the GP removes it, they'll send it for Pathology just like most dermatologists would. The GP will get the report that talks about the margins and if more needs to be removed. Certainly a dermatologist would be best, but not if you have to wait for weeks or more. The big difference is that a GP looks at a variety of conditions day in and day out, but a derm looks at skin conditions all day long and a good derm will have a well tuned instinct for identifying problematic lesions by sight. I had two identical looking moles but one was pre-cancerous and one was not. My derm knew the difference by sight. |
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Post by corinne11 on Dec 28, 2015 0:46:16 GMT
I am paranoid about any changes or new spots/moles that appear so I'd be at the Drs very quickly. Unfortunately one of the side effects of medication I will need to take for the rest of my life is that I now have a much higher risk of skin cancer. I used to see my specialist dermatologist once a year, but now he wants to see me every 6 months. He does a whole body check.
Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancers in the world and everyone I know who has had biopsies or moles removed have been diagnosed by their GP's first. I have an autoimmune disease that affects my skin and it is very rare- 1 in 100,00 people. My GP diagnosed me two days before Christmas and when he tried to get me into a hospital, they said it was highly unlikely that his diagnosis was correct and booked me in for 3 weeks time.
Luckily my GP was persistent and managed to book me into my dermatologist on Christmas Eve, who biopsied, officially diagnosed me and was able to prescribe medication to start on straight away.
Hope yours turns out to be nothing serious.
Corinne |
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,797
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Dec 28, 2015 4:36:15 GMT
DEMAND to see a dermatologist! GP's will try to take care of it themselves. NOPE! See a dermatologist! Be a bitch if you have to! The mole is under her armpit, where scarring isn't an issue like on the face. Standard of care is a biopsy, in this case a simple one, easily-and more cheaply-performed by a GP/internist/PCP. Why would you "demand" a dermatologist? What do you think the derm will do differently/better? I'm genuinely curious. I would demand a dermatologist (not plastic surgeon, which I would require if it was somewhere I would be worried about scarring) because, in my experience, GP's tend to think they can treat or identify anything and everything and they are frequently VERY wrong. Multiple occasions I have had a GP tell me one thing and come to find out, it was something completely different. Specialists all the way for me. It's worth it. |
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Post by librarylady on Jan 17, 2016 1:47:52 GMT
Do you have an update for us?
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Post by mom on Jan 17, 2016 2:50:51 GMT
Do you have an update for us? No real update yet - I saw my regular doctor and he was not comfortable saying it was 'nothing'. So he got me an appointment with a dermatologist on the 27th. Thanks for checking up with me! |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 5, 2024 7:29:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2016 2:53:50 GMT
That's great! Not a very long wait at all.
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