"Unhelpful appointment"

My Dr referred me to see a dermatologist to have two moles checked that were weeping and itchy. It took several weeks to get the appointment and it was finally provided with just a days notice.

At the appointment the nurse who saw me into the room was very friendly as was the receptionist. However, the consultant was not so good. They  looked at my moles and made me feel like I was wasting her time by coming to get them checked. It was my Dr who raised concern and because I have previously had a mole and birth mark removed due to abnormal cells she thought it best to get seen.

When I told the consultant about the previous removal, they didn’t seem to believe me until I showed them the 4 inch scar on my leg. When I said the mole and birth mark were removed due to abnormal cells being present they queried what that meant in what I felt was unprofessional language.

They said one of my moles was just a skin tag (despite it being very large, brown and that it used to be the same as my other small round raised moles before it grew.) They also said that the moles on my back were birth marks; but these appeared when I was around 10 year old. I hadn’t had any problems with these until several months ago when they started bleeding, itching and weeping. They  told me to just put Vaseline on them.

I did not find this helpful. I’m glad that these moles or whatever are ok and safe, but I feel quite hurt that it was insinuated that I wanted them removing. They said that they don’t remove things like that, as though it was something I wanted. I have moles all over my body and have done for years and they don’t usually cause a bother; it certainly isn’t something I would choose to have cut off for no reason.

I thought I was being sensible by going to my doctor in the first place (especially as I have a family history with various cancers.) This had made me feel very uncomfortable about even approaching for advice if needed in the future which should never be the case! Dangerous practice in my view. What would have been best is for them to check the moles, provide reassurance and let me know that I had done the right thing by getting them looked at. I feel the opposite happened.

Such as shame to have this experience because BGH staff are usually really good.