It seems that patients seeking an appointment with a dermatologist to ask about a potentially cancerous mole have to wait substantially longer than those seeking Botox for wrinkles. In a study published online on Tuesday by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the average wait time for someone with a suspicious mole in Boston was a horrendous 55 days longer than someone wanting to smooth out their wrinkles.

Even when patients reported a changing mole and were willing to pay out-of-pocket for a dermatology visit, the median wait time was 18 days longer than for botox in the 12 metropolitan areas that the research was conducted.

While I have no opinion on botox treatments, I do feel that the priority should be placed on the patients with life threatening concerns ... as one of those people who has to track color changes or irregular borders (yes, I was blessed with moles) and who has regular biopsies, I know that waiting is the worst part. And, while waiting times of a few weeks or more for a suspicious mole may not add up to significant progression of skin cancer if it is, indeed, present ... it's the not knowing that people have a hard time dealing with.

We are constantly told that early detection of cancer is key ... something is clearly wrong here.