Q:Why may my tests take some time to come back?
A: It can be very hard and worrying time waiting for test results and your medical team understand this. Average wait times can be 2, 3 or 4 weeks depending on the test. It is a good idea to ask how long your results will take. For skin biopsies it takes time to process a skin sample. You can contact your clinical nurse specialist if you have any concerns.
Q: What is a SSMDT, or MDT meeting and who attends it?
A: SSMDT stands for Specialist Skin Cancer Multidisciplinary team and MDT for multi-disciplinary team (MDT). This is a team of expert health care professionals from different specialties who work together to decide the best plan of care for you.
Q: Is melanoma hereditary?
A: Most melanoma cancers do not run in families and are not hereditary (inherited through genes). Since families may inherit the same skin type though, they may have more risk of melanoma for this reason.
Q: What does melanoma ‘stage’ mean?
A: After a diagnosis of melanoma, your medical team will work out the ‘stage’ of your melanoma. The stage is a way of describing the key features of your melanoma and provides an indication of how advanced your melanoma is. For more information on staging, how your stage is worked out and the different stages of melanoma, see here