Salford's Cancer Pathway - Case Study
John from Salford (anonymous)
This is my story of being diagnosed with a malignant melanoma through Salford NHS services and fortunately, having it removed before things got worse. I am sharing this to show my appreciation for my local health services, which were just excellent the whole way through, and to encourage other people to get an appointment if they notice anything similar.
Earlier in the year, my wife noticed a spot that appeared on the top of my cheek. It was brown with a darker centre, around 6mm diameter, and had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
I requested a GP appointment at Sides Medical Centre and had a phone appointment on the 20th May 2022. My GP asked me a series of questions and looked at a photograph that I had submitted beforehand of my spot.
After reviewing my photograph, she told me that I would be immediately referred for a specialist appointment at my local hospital. If your GP suspects that you have cancer, you will be put on a two-week cancer pathway to ensure that you get a timely first consultation with a specialist.
I was contacted within days by Salford Royal Hospital and attended an appointment at their dermatology service on the 17th June. It was an excellent consultation. They checked my entire body for other spots as well as checking my face of course, and it felt all in good practice and very comforting.
I was told that I needed a biopsy and returned to Salford Royal Hospital on the 25th July, having still taken a planned extended holiday in between, to have it done. I was advised that biopsy results can take up to five weeks, and I was back in the hospital on the 2nd September to hear the outcome.
Unfortunately - it was malignant melanoma - a type of skin cancer that can spread to other organs in the body if not spotted early enough. I was feeling very pragmatic about the situation in hand. I just wanted a plan and they gave me a very clear one, whilst being extremely sensitive to my situation which I really appreciated.
I was referred to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust Hospital for surgery. I attended on the 15th September for a review and a preoperative assessment. Again, I felt at ease and was pleased that things were moving along quickly.
In fact, on the 16th September, I received a phone call asking if I was able to come in on Tuesday 20th September to have the spot removed - which I did. I asked the surgeon to talk to me throughout the procedure as it was done under local anaesthetic. They did a ‘wide local excision’ and took about a 20 mm diameter piece of skin away, then closed the wound.
I received a phone call from specialists after my surgery to confirm that what they removed from my face had completely contained the melanoma - meaning that hopefully it shouldn’t spread further.
I will now attend a follow up appointment every three months to check my face and also the rest of my body. I wear factor 50 suncream on my face every day, if outdoors in the sun, from their recommendation, as my risk level is higher now that I have had cancer once before.
It actually felt slightly scary that everything was moving along so quickly, in terms of processing it all myself, but I am so grateful that they did it at that speed and did it so well. I am full of gratitude and respect for everyone who was involved. I can only praise them.
If you see something that is not quite right - please trigger the start of the process and get yourself an appointment. I believe I was lucky that I was seen so quickly and probably would have had it removed even quicker had I not decided to go ahead with my holiday.
There is a system in place and it does work - so try and let it work for you rather than thinking that it will take so long that you shouldn’t bother.
Please do bother - it may save your life.
