5 month wait to get a mole checked

TaOcrasOrm

I was recently reffered to tallaght hospital to have a suspicious mole checked, however I have now been informed that the dermatology section is closed until december. My referal letter has been sent to blanch hospital, however being out of my jurisdiction they may not take me. I will more than likely have to wait until december to get my mole examined which is quite worrying as there has been a wide history of cancer in my family. I do not have health insurance or the money to go private. Can anyone give me any advice on what I may be able to do here. Should I just wait it out and hope for the best? If melanoma was present, how serious could it be to wait 5 months to diagnose it?

Stheno

I'm not offering you medical advice, but were I you I'd go back to the person who referred you and explain the situation.

If you need to go private for peace of mind then see if you can borrow the money from family members even for the initial consultation.

Boxoffrogs

If you're really concerned, it's not all that expensive to have a mole checked out privately http://www.chartermedical.ie/health-screening/mole-mapping

That's a Dublin clinic but I know mole screening is available as a service in clinics nationwide and often as a walk-in service.

I've got quite a few moles and after going to have a lump on my breast checked in Tallaght hospital a couple of years ago, the consultant noticed a lot of my moles and advised me to come in and have most of them removed because she 'didn't like the look of them'. Some of them are quite prominent, so being quite vain, I was worried about scarring. I opted to have my moles checked privately and turns out they are healthy. It's nice to get that reassurance.

Otis Driftwood

Hi TaOcrasOrm,while I empathise with you current situation your query is leaning towards seeking medical advice which is prohibited across boards,follow nouggatti's advice and get in touch with the physician that originally referred you.

Thread closed.