Skin Cancer
Diagnostics

The need for faster diagnostics
It's difficult to imagine the psychological impact of discovering something on your skin that needs further investigation. The worry and stress affects not only you but also your family and friends. The longer you have to wait for a diagnosis, the more anxious you become. There can often be a wait to see the GP and again to see the consultant.

To help support our members, we now offer the choice of a skin cancer self-referral service where members can access local cancer specialists quickly for diagnostics.

• Simply call your Cigna Helpline to self-refer and you’ll receive a dermatology nurse examination within 5 working days of your call to Cigna. All skin marks or moles are then photographed, uploaded to a telemedicine tool and reviewed by consultants.
• Skin marks or moles are then graded and categorised. If there is nothing to worry about, you’ll be told within 5 working days of your nurse appointment.
• If a skin mark or mole requires further investigation by a consultant, an appointment will be arranged within 10 working days.
• Results will be available within a further 5 working days of seeing the consultant, so you’ll have a diagnosis within 25 days of calling Cigna.

Rapid access through self-referral
To reduce the initial wait, you can choose to bypass the GP and self-refer to skin cancer diagnostics. If you have a worry, you simply call Cigna to discuss your symptoms and are transferred to SkinHealth UK who will arrange an appointment with a dermatology nurse if appropriate. Your appointment will be arranged within 5 working days. To find out more about the member journey please download our infographic.

Our nurse team

A dedicated team of nurses are on hand to support members who require treatment following the final consultant diagnostic stage. You must call Cigna for pre-authorisation for any follow-up treatment.