Tell me about your itchy flaky mole that wasn’t cancerous

[VaguelyInteresting]

Have a very small mole on my stomach that has been very mildly itchy, very occasionally for a year.

Six months ago it got really itchy for a few days then stopped. Monitored and no changes so assumed it was a reaction to washing powder & didn’t action.

This week it’s itching like fury, and looks sore. It’s now developed a sort of scabby scale on top.

I’ve booked an appt with my doctor for Tuesday but OF COURSE am imagining The Very Worst & getting in a rare old tizz.

Come and hit me up with your stories of moles that looked like they were CERTAIN bad news but turned out to be benign.

I’ve had a couple, including colour changes. All absolutely fine but definitely good to get checked out.

Is it near your waistband? With colder weather and probably more tight or warm clothes it may be irritated.

Ooh yes, I had one! It was itchy and changed from a normal looking mole to being white/grey with scaly top. Duly panicked once I noticed it and sent urgent pictures to my GP whilst googling myself into a terrified mess.

GP came back to say the mole had been colonised by a 'warty growth'. Yuck.

I put extra grippy duct tape over it for two weeks and the wart died, leaving my old mole in place.

Obviously still get yours checked!

I have one on my stomach to. Went to the gp cos it was itchy and bleeding. They referred me to the hospital on the 2 week wait pathway so I was really worried. Got to the hospital, the doctor took one look at it and said no it’s fine and they discharged me. I was there literally two minutes. They did say that moles can change during pregnancy (I have recently had a baby) so I don’t know if that applies to you.

Mine turned out to be psoriasis on my mole

I've had that. It's because it is slightly raised, so rubs a bit more against certain fabrics. As yours sounds really small, it's probably nothing!

My husband had a similar thing on his back,fit every category of what could be a cancerous mole. Turned out to be seborrheic keratosis which the dermatologist 'froze?' off.

I had one on my face, it turns out I get eczema on it at some times of the year. I was seen by the dermatologist and given the all clear with no tests needed.

*Turned out to be seborrheic keratosis

I've had a couple of those (started in pregnancy) and they terrified me until I got them checked out. The doctor was almost laughing at me. But they totally fit all the criteria for cancer as far as I could tell. Obviously a relief and now I know what to look for.

I used have a matching pair, one on each collarbone. One became itchy and flakey. This was years ago and the doctor removed it there and then at the surgery under local anaesthetic which made me worry. Sent it for testing, no issues fortunately. I've now got one under one boob which I was a bit concerned about so mentioned to the doctor at an unrelated appointment. She said it was nothing to worry about.
I wish it was easy to work out whether these lumps and bumps are dangerous as the older you get the more they seem to appear, well I my case anyway!

Ahh thanks everyone.

Interesting - all of my moles went WILD when I was pregnant and breastfeeding. Including one on my hairline (on my head!) that I’d had since birth, and is VERY prominent now. I would say, it’s now in “warty great aunt Vaguely” territory

DS is now 5 so can’t imagine that’s still the thing for this wee one... but weirdly I realised tonight that The Itch has coincided with me eating gluten (am intolerant though not celiac) ... probably coincidence.

I don’t know... bloody bodies eh.

I wish they’d hurry up and get cost effective medical robots/AI developed that we can keep at home- like in that film, Big Hero 6- and you could just stick your appendage in for a quick scan without bothering anyone with your itches and skin flakes...

Well done for going to doctor!

I did have one that was itchy and sore. It was fine. Turned out that I needed to wear trousers that didn’t rub against it.

My Gp recommended MiiSkin an app to scan moles. Sent a text after I’d seen her for a mole that turned out to be just normal and dry.

I had/have a mole on my side, just below ribcage, that was dry and itching. I was referred to dermatology for investigation and the consultant glanced at it and said it was fine. They did, however (very unexpectedly), give me a full body scan to check all my moles (visual, and because I was unprepared for it, I was not wearing matching underwear 🤣) and found another mole (that I hadnt even noticed) which 'had potential' and required removal (also fine, nothing sinister found).

Hmm. Mine was cancerous after initially being misdiagnosed 2 years previous as seborrheic keratosis, but only basal cell carcinoma. Better than having squamous cell carcinoma. My dermatologist told me it was more likely I'd die of old age than BCC, but arranged for it to be cut out anyway. 4 years on, all is well.

Always check, it's never a waste of time. I just went and checked a scaly looking one and was told it was an age spot

I had one suddenly go itchy, it was removed/biopsied and was benign.

Always get them checked, but most are found not to be cancerous.

Ugh it def looks a bit sort of “scabby” this morning- but not blood-scabby... like it’s just... crusted? It’s so small though (like 2mm? 3mm?) it’s hard to tell.

I feel like a massive idiot for not following it up 6 months ago now...

I had a mole on my breast that was the size of my small finger nail, was fine for years then when i was 19 it went from a light brown to dark brown then black and went lumpy. Went to docs who referred me to hospital and it was removed and luckily not cancer but the word was mentioned and I had 3 weeks of worry before the result came in

@Shmithecat2 that is concerning. I w been told twice this is normal by GPs but still a bit worried. Might see a dermatologist.

I had one on my back that got really scaly and crusty while I was pregnant. Got it checked and it was subchorionic keratosis, subsequently dropped off and left no mole at all. 3 years on it's yet to reoccur

I had one on my back thag itched for years. It was fine and non cancerous but I had it removed. I was not happy that I couldn't see it. Maybe do the the same?

I had an itchy, ragged-edged mole which is bigger than all the others on my body. A checkup & examination revealed it to be OK, but it was photographed and I was asked to keep an eye on any changes for the next 12 months. No removal and no further issues.

@clarepetal

Yeah I have had mole removed from my back for the same reason a few years ago- I think because I couldn’t see it though, I never really knew what it looked like (couldn’t even see it in the mirror because of the place/angle so couldn’t Google it!)

I’m just worrying pointlessly really- but very hard not to, isn’t it!

I had a two scabby ones on my face that just fell off one day!

Seborrhoeic keratosis? Look like scabby moles but harmless, just very unslightly.