Mole on my back

LegacyUser

Hi there,

Can anybody recommend a specialist that I could go to see about a mole i have on my back. I just want to get it checked out. I went to my GP and she referred me to the Mater Hospital..on the day I did'nt show up because I found out one of my friends worked for that dept. Would have been embarassing. Preferrably a specialist on the Northside?

dudara

Get it checked out ASAP.

And why in God's earth would you be embarassed about something like a mole? It's not as if it's a STI.

spurious

How could it possibly be embarrassing? If your doctor thinks it's worth checking out, it probably is. A 'specialist on the northside' will do the same thing and refer you to the hospital.

I don't intend to be particularly alarmist, but the sooner the better with this sort of thing.

Santa Claus

If you got a letter of referral from your GP to the mater then you can still use this and just make up an excuse of why you didn't go the first time.

Otherwise, get your GP to refer you to Beaumount or Blanchardstown (I know beaumount has dermatology clinics but not sure about Blanch). You must get a letter from your GP though, You can't just turn up at a hospital to get it checked.

justafriend?

Everybody here is giving you good advice.... you should not put off something like that....

Though if you are adamant that you wont go to that particular department - I have heard that Dr Eaddie in St James Hospital (I know she has a private clinic there) is very good.

chern0byl

justafriend? wrote:

Everybody here is giving you good advice.... you should not put off something like that....

..but the person is, so the advice is shoite. They wanted info not advice.

Heyes

skin specialist in the charlemont clinic. no need to worry its very routine.

Black Swan

Had one removed once. Cosmetic. No big deal OP. Happens all the time. Really! Follow up on your GPs referral. They will check it out, too, to see if there's a slight chance of a problem. What's the old Nike commercial? "Just do it!":cool:

Tusky

I have a mole on my lower back and never thought to get it checked out. I think I had it checked as a kid and it was fine...are you supposed to keep getting them checked or... ?

Anti

I myself have hundreds of moles on my body. I have ot get them checked out every 6/12 months just to be sure..

Santa Claus

anti wrote:

I myself have hundreds of moles on my body. I have ot get them checked out every 6/12 months just to be sure..

I was at a dermatologist recently regarding moles and she mentioned that you can get your moles photographed in the Mater for 20€ (or the beacon clinic for 200:eek: ).
Basically they take photos of your arms, chest, back, legs and then you get someone to compare your body to the picture every few months to check for new moles/changes to existing moles (and go straight to doctor if you find any new/changed moles).

Of course you could also do this yourself with a digital camera and a willing partner/family member.

This was only her advice to me of course and may not apply to others but I thought it was a very good idea.

Also, for anyone worried about moles, the Irish Cancer Society provide a lot of info...this little leaflet is particularly helpful: http://www.cancer.ie/images/melanoma.jpg