Hello!
Ive never posted on a forum before but im feeling extremely anxious and upset.
Sorry for the long post!
I have had a mole for at least 5-6 years, probably more. Stupidly, I have always thought it looks a unusual but havent given it much thought/ brushed it off.
A couple of weeks ago, I was reading about suspicious moles and realised my mole meets all of the a b c d criteria. My mole is asymmetrical, with irregular borders and different shades of brown and is measuring 6x7mm. It looks almost like a kidney bean. I have a picture from six years ago and it doesnt appear to have changed. I wasnt too concerned as i have had this mole for years, but went to the GP and they have referred me on the tww which set off alarm bells. I went to a teledermatology appointment and received a letter a few days later saying it had been reviewed and the next step is urgent face to face appointment. They have put possible diagnosis as atypical mole. I am still waiting on this appointment.
I felt so anxious by this, I decided to pay privately to see a consultant who works at the nhs also. He reviewed the mole under the dermascope and said it doesnt look worrying and he looked at the picture from six years ago and said because theres no change he is not concerned- he told me to come back in three months if i was concerned but to try and focus on having my baby ( im pregnant) He said he did not feel I needed a biopsy but to go along to my nhs appt anyway for a second opinion.
The anxiety has been so high, its been three weeks since my GP reviewed me so I contacted the private consultant again about doing a biopsy. He said he would do one but more for my peace of mind- he said he did not think it was a melanoma. He believes it is a dysplastic navus. My dad had BCC and I believe my grandfather had a skin cancer or suspicious mole removed and so did my cousin. I also grew up abroad and i am off celtic origin. I was silly in my teens a few times re sunbathing which is plaguing me.
i cant stop worrying about impact on my baby if i Have cancer, im so upset ive left it so late. Ive been signed off work and lost my appetite.
My questions are
- has anyone had a mole that ticked all the ABCD criteria/ ugly duckling and turn out to be not melanoma?
- if it was stage 3/ 4 would you likely have other symptoms or feeling unwell?
Best wishes
Sio
Hi Sio welcome to the forum. Im a bit concerned that two different Consultants have said that all is well for you but you still seem to feel continued anxiety about this and Im trying to understand why that is the case for you. I would have thought that having seen this, examined it and biopsied it Im not sure what else they could do to offer any re-assurance for you? Can I ask why you were reading about suspicious moles and where you were reading this as this seems to have set off anxiety for you which we often see when people read stuff on Google for example which is not specific enough to be of any use nor value to people.
Maybe its time to focus on that lovely baby you are going to have and keep an eye on this mole but dont be stressing so much when you have had all the tests to date, if that makes sense?
gail
