What could this skin bump be?

[HawthornTree]

I’ve had a red spot type thing on my face for nearly 4 months.
I thought it was a spot, then a virus and assumed it would go away of its own accord. A few weeks ago I realised how long I’d had it, so I asked the pharmacist (thinking it was something I could just get cream for), but he looked shocked and told me I needed to go to the gp. Got an appointment at the end of next week but am getting worried in the meantime that it could be more serious than I realised (ie skin cancer).

I'm hoping its really unlikely to be serious, but don't know what else could it be? Do cysts or fungal infections last that long?

[littlecabbage]

I wouldn't think cancer is likely. Maybe a granuloma? Spot that got infected and then formed a red lump. Try not to worry, unlikely to be sinister.

[BrillyPribble]

You are absolutely doing the right thing in getting it checked out because these kinds of things can be serious. Having said that, I've got a lump/spot on my leg which I've probably had for nearly 10 years now. I've had it checked and it's nothing. I don't think it's a cyst or an infection and it's nothing scary either. Just a weird lump.

[HawthornTree]

Thanks for replying. Never heard of that but that's sounds far more likely. I wasn't worried til I saw the pharmacists reaction!

[HawthornTree]

I thought it was just a weird lump too, which would go away by itself. Hope I can get rid of it though, it looks like a big spot on my face!

[LarkDescending]

You are right to go to the GP - could be something or nothing but needs to be checked. I have had facial non-melanoma skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) which didn’t look like a spot but more like a hard bump as though I had hit my head, which I hadn’t. Even my GP initially wrote it off as nothing - I was referred 5 months later to a specialist who diagnosed it immediately.

Any skin lesion which doesn’t heal needs checking. The good news is that even if it is skin cancer, the non-melanoma types are generally easily dealt with and really not that big a deal. They are very common and there are hordes of us who have had them excised and then just got on with our lives.

Good luck with your appointment.