› Forums › General Melanoma Community › wait time for biopsy
- This topic has 24 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 2 months ago by
SABKLYN.
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- February 28, 2015 at 8:40 pm
My partner went to his family doctor with a highly suspicious lesion on the bridge of his nose. He never had a lesion there before. It grew quickly over 4-6 weeks before he saw the doctor. It was ulcerated and bleeding, and black and blue in colour. The doctor referred him for a biopsy. The referral was dated for 3 1/2 months later. We asked for a sooner appointment and couldn't get one. The biopsy came back as positive for melanoma and a month later the neck lymph nodes came back positive.
My question is-how long do most people wait to have an initial biopsy?
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- February 28, 2015 at 8:54 pm
There is a scientific wait time from when they start to a true result of like 30 hours or something. I think my biopsy was on a Wednesday and result was Friday and radiation started that Friday too. It sounds like he needs to get to a melanoma specialist fast. I remember when my regular doc had me call the first specialist to determine what was going on and it was months wait. So my doc got me to another oncologist who I saw in a couple days which was the Wednesday I refer to. Waiting like that with melanoma cancer is not a good idea.
Artie
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- February 28, 2015 at 8:54 pm
There is a scientific wait time from when they start to a true result of like 30 hours or something. I think my biopsy was on a Wednesday and result was Friday and radiation started that Friday too. It sounds like he needs to get to a melanoma specialist fast. I remember when my regular doc had me call the first specialist to determine what was going on and it was months wait. So my doc got me to another oncologist who I saw in a couple days which was the Wednesday I refer to. Waiting like that with melanoma cancer is not a good idea.
Artie
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- February 28, 2015 at 8:54 pm
There is a scientific wait time from when they start to a true result of like 30 hours or something. I think my biopsy was on a Wednesday and result was Friday and radiation started that Friday too. It sounds like he needs to get to a melanoma specialist fast. I remember when my regular doc had me call the first specialist to determine what was going on and it was months wait. So my doc got me to another oncologist who I saw in a couple days which was the Wednesday I refer to. Waiting like that with melanoma cancer is not a good idea.
Artie
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- March 1, 2015 at 3:47 am
Well I had no idea what my problem was and neither did my regular doc. Just a weird bulge that showed up over night on my right side. That was May 14 and I saw her on May 16. On May 16 they did an ultrasound. On May 20 got those results and she sent me to a specialist but they wouldn't see me for a couple months so I complained. So she sent me to a different specialist I saw on May 27. Thst specialist just thought I had a separated muscle but that I might want to do a ct scan anyway. I tried to think it was nothing and delayed until June 5 to call for the ct which was done on the 6th. On the 7th they called and said something is wrong. So my doc had an mri on I think that following Saturday. Then I think it was the following Tuesday they said to see the oncologist. Wednesday that was done. The biopsy was not simple because from t10 vertebrae so that was Thursday. Preliminary results saying it was melanoma was Friday with final confirmation Monday. Although was sure it was cancer. Also had a head mri and another ct I think that Wednesday. Friday with biopsy preliminary result started radiation. Following Tuesday was pet scan. If I had went much longer I would have been paralyzed cause that is the weird spinal cord issue they kind of saw in the first ct.
Artie
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- March 1, 2015 at 3:47 am
Well I had no idea what my problem was and neither did my regular doc. Just a weird bulge that showed up over night on my right side. That was May 14 and I saw her on May 16. On May 16 they did an ultrasound. On May 20 got those results and she sent me to a specialist but they wouldn't see me for a couple months so I complained. So she sent me to a different specialist I saw on May 27. Thst specialist just thought I had a separated muscle but that I might want to do a ct scan anyway. I tried to think it was nothing and delayed until June 5 to call for the ct which was done on the 6th. On the 7th they called and said something is wrong. So my doc had an mri on I think that following Saturday. Then I think it was the following Tuesday they said to see the oncologist. Wednesday that was done. The biopsy was not simple because from t10 vertebrae so that was Thursday. Preliminary results saying it was melanoma was Friday with final confirmation Monday. Although was sure it was cancer. Also had a head mri and another ct I think that Wednesday. Friday with biopsy preliminary result started radiation. Following Tuesday was pet scan. If I had went much longer I would have been paralyzed cause that is the weird spinal cord issue they kind of saw in the first ct.
Artie
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- March 1, 2015 at 3:47 am
Well I had no idea what my problem was and neither did my regular doc. Just a weird bulge that showed up over night on my right side. That was May 14 and I saw her on May 16. On May 16 they did an ultrasound. On May 20 got those results and she sent me to a specialist but they wouldn't see me for a couple months so I complained. So she sent me to a different specialist I saw on May 27. Thst specialist just thought I had a separated muscle but that I might want to do a ct scan anyway. I tried to think it was nothing and delayed until June 5 to call for the ct which was done on the 6th. On the 7th they called and said something is wrong. So my doc had an mri on I think that following Saturday. Then I think it was the following Tuesday they said to see the oncologist. Wednesday that was done. The biopsy was not simple because from t10 vertebrae so that was Thursday. Preliminary results saying it was melanoma was Friday with final confirmation Monday. Although was sure it was cancer. Also had a head mri and another ct I think that Wednesday. Friday with biopsy preliminary result started radiation. Following Tuesday was pet scan. If I had went much longer I would have been paralyzed cause that is the weird spinal cord issue they kind of saw in the first ct.
Artie
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- February 28, 2015 at 9:57 pm
My husband had a similarly frustrating experience when he was first diagnosed. He tried over and over to get a biopsy but had to wait months before finally seeing the dermatologist and having it biopsied. We feel that this wait was detramental to him, as he has a very aggressive melanoma with a high mitosis rate. Ultimately, though, one can't change the past and can only move forward with the best possible care. Be sure your partner gets a Melanoma specialist to treat him!
Best wishes,
Yasmin
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- March 1, 2015 at 12:37 am
Unfortunately at Christmas he was diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain and died a month later; less than 8 months from the original diagnoses. When he first presented to the doctor he had no evidence of spread to the lymph nodes or any other spread for that matter. I wonder what it might have been like if he was diagnosed sooner.
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- March 1, 2015 at 12:37 am
Unfortunately at Christmas he was diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain and died a month later; less than 8 months from the original diagnoses. When he first presented to the doctor he had no evidence of spread to the lymph nodes or any other spread for that matter. I wonder what it might have been like if he was diagnosed sooner.
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- March 1, 2015 at 12:37 am
Unfortunately at Christmas he was diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain and died a month later; less than 8 months from the original diagnoses. When he first presented to the doctor he had no evidence of spread to the lymph nodes or any other spread for that matter. I wonder what it might have been like if he was diagnosed sooner.
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- February 28, 2015 at 9:57 pm
My husband had a similarly frustrating experience when he was first diagnosed. He tried over and over to get a biopsy but had to wait months before finally seeing the dermatologist and having it biopsied. We feel that this wait was detramental to him, as he has a very aggressive melanoma with a high mitosis rate. Ultimately, though, one can't change the past and can only move forward with the best possible care. Be sure your partner gets a Melanoma specialist to treat him!
Best wishes,
Yasmin
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- February 28, 2015 at 9:57 pm
My husband had a similarly frustrating experience when he was first diagnosed. He tried over and over to get a biopsy but had to wait months before finally seeing the dermatologist and having it biopsied. We feel that this wait was detramental to him, as he has a very aggressive melanoma with a high mitosis rate. Ultimately, though, one can't change the past and can only move forward with the best possible care. Be sure your partner gets a Melanoma specialist to treat him!
Best wishes,
Yasmin
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- March 1, 2015 at 12:10 am
My wait was three months from the appointment with my primary doctor to the appointment with the derm and that was with several phone calls to attempt to get an appointment sooner. My original appointment was scheduled four months after the primary doctor visit and ultimately it was moved up one month but still took three months for the biopsy and then another three weeks to get the "melanoma" results.
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- March 1, 2015 at 12:10 am
My wait was three months from the appointment with my primary doctor to the appointment with the derm and that was with several phone calls to attempt to get an appointment sooner. My original appointment was scheduled four months after the primary doctor visit and ultimately it was moved up one month but still took three months for the biopsy and then another three weeks to get the "melanoma" results.
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- March 1, 2015 at 12:10 am
My wait was three months from the appointment with my primary doctor to the appointment with the derm and that was with several phone calls to attempt to get an appointment sooner. My original appointment was scheduled four months after the primary doctor visit and ultimately it was moved up one month but still took three months for the biopsy and then another three weeks to get the "melanoma" results.
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- March 1, 2015 at 2:45 pm
3 months to get an initial biopsy for a mole as you describe is way too long. It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. Even if you see a p.a. at a derm clinic initially, you should still be able to be examined and biopsied within a much shorter timeframe.
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- March 1, 2015 at 2:45 pm
3 months to get an initial biopsy for a mole as you describe is way too long. It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. Even if you see a p.a. at a derm clinic initially, you should still be able to be examined and biopsied within a much shorter timeframe.
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- March 1, 2015 at 2:45 pm
3 months to get an initial biopsy for a mole as you describe is way too long. It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. Even if you see a p.a. at a derm clinic initially, you should still be able to be examined and biopsied within a much shorter timeframe.
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