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?

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.

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.

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

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!

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.