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Original poster

Large mole - worried about melanoma

36 replies

newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 13:01

Hi all

Just looking for a bit of reassurance really. Has anyone had any experience with a big mole appearing (I’m embarrassed to say I’m not sure exactly how long it’s been there) that looks different to all your others and it’s been fine?

I just noticed this mole under my boob (pic attached) at the weekend. Went to the doctor today half expecting her to be like it’s fine don’t worry but she took one look and referred me via fast track to been seen in two weeks by a dermatologist. I’m now going out of my mind :( Like I said it looks completely different to all my other moles (tiny and much darker) and it’s about an inch in size.

Thank you for receding x

Large mole - worried about melanoma
OP posts:
Original poster
newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 13:07

Sorry - a centimetre in size - not an inch!!

OP posts:
polkadotpixie · 08/08/2019 13:23

Have you recently had a baby? I got some weird discoloured patches, not dissimilar to this when I was pregnant and still have them now

Peanutbuttericecream · 08/08/2019 13:33

I had one on my back. I didn't know it was there, I'd never seen it but the doctor saw it when I was there for something else. I was urgently referred query malignant melanoma. I had it removed, with a large margin of skin taken around it. I was shitting myself, to be honest but the results came back as perfectly normal. I had to wait four fucking weeks for the results, yes four fucking weeks! That's four weeks I'll never get back. Looking on the bright side, they do err very much on the side of caution with these moles and yours will no doubt be fine.

Original poster
newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 13:33

I did yes 10 months ago - I did consider this. Although I can’t be certain, I can’t remeber seeing it when pregnant so this makes me think it may have appeared since then....

OP posts:
Original poster
newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 13:34

Four weeks, what a joke. I’m glad it turned out to be nothing!

OP posts:
Peanutbuttericecream · 08/08/2019 13:37

Thanks @newmumshelley, as I said they do err on the side of caution with these moles.

MumUndone · 08/08/2019 14:02

That doesn't look like melanoma, purely going by Google images.

I got loads of moles and areas of pigmentation when pregnant, both times.

Original poster
newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 14:07

Thanks, I did look at google images too and I do agree, it’s just the size and the difference to the rest of my moles that’s concerning me.

Did your skin changes linger after birth? I am 10 months pp

OP posts:
MumUndone · 08/08/2019 14:26

Some of them disappeared, some of them I still have from the first time I was pregnant, 6 years ago.

summeryet · 08/08/2019 14:30

Hey,

I was treated for a melanoma last summer, as a result became a complete google freak! This doesn't look like anything scary, but as people have said, GPs are often over cautious, so definitely go along to your appointment, but don't be freaking out.

It's not uncommon for dermatology to take off moles that are 'atypical', so even if that's decided, it doesn't mean that they're worried.

They'll also check your closest lymph nodes for swelling (under your arms and just by feeling).

Worry not!

Benjispruce · 08/08/2019 14:34

Doesn’t look dodgy to my untrained eye. Ime GPS refer all skin lesions for assessment. My DH has been referred a couple of times. Check / google ABCD
Asymmetry
Border
Colour
Diameter

MrsEricBana · 08/08/2019 14:46

Doesn't look at all dodgy to me but I'm no expert. Good to get checked. Hope you get some reassuring news asap.

OpheliaTodd · 08/08/2019 14:50

I’m also on the 2 week thing waiting for an appt with a dermatologist. Difference is that mine looks very much like photos of dodgy moles so I’m bricking it 😕

Original poster
newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 15:01

Thanks everyone. I didn’t think it looked that dodgy either (my GP seemed to think it was speckley in colour and irregular edged... not sure if I’m blind) but i of course have found horror stories online about small normal looking moles turning out the be nasty etc and just panicked. Always jump to the worst case scenario don’t you 🙄🙄🙄

OP posts:
Original poster
newmumshelley · 08/08/2019 15:02

It’s not fun is it. Let me know how you get on. I will definitely update this thread once I’ve been x

OP posts:
pucelleauxblanchesmains · 08/08/2019 22:51

I had one that looked like textbook melanoma when I was 20 - huge, three colours, bonkers shape, the works - my GP looked terrified when she saw it and I had the worst 2 months of my life (yes, two months) waiting for the results from the biopsy because of an admin error. In the end histology found it to be a benign compound mole and not even a pre-cancerous one that needed any further skin removal. This obviously doesn't automatically mean that yours will be fine (although I'm of course hoping it will, and most people referred on the 2 week pathway do not have cancer in the end.) But it's absolutely not as cut and dry as dodgy mole = melanoma. And if it is melanoma then if you've caught it early enough - and you've been proactive about this, which is good!!!! - it's one of the easier cancers to treat because it's on the surface of the skin and can just be excised.

Time40 · 08/08/2019 23:09

That doesn't look like a mole to me, it looks more like a discoloured patch.

Don't worry, OP - even when it looks serious, it can turn out to be nothing. I had a big dark mole that went funny colours, changed shape and started bleeding. I had it cut out ... and there was nothing wrong with it. Benign.

DermatologyDoc · 08/08/2019 23:49

I am a consultant dermatologist. It looks benign on the photo. It might turn out to be a seborrheic keratosis, they are quite common under the breasts.

Usual caveat - it needs to be examined in person for full accuracy.

Original poster
newmumshelley · 09/08/2019 08:37

Thanks all - that’s really reassuring. You have at least saved me from going mental in the two week wait.

Dermatologydoc - that’s very reassuring thank you. I did think it could be that but dismissed it because of my age (30) but from reading a bit more about it what I have seems much much more likely to be SK than the dreaded melanoma (fingers crossed)

OP posts:
DermatologyDoc · 09/08/2019 08:55

Happy to help.

OpheliaTodd · 09/08/2019 20:30

@DermatologyDoc do you fancy saying what you’d think of mine?

Large mole - worried about melanoma
OpheliaTodd · 09/08/2019 20:31

See it’s got the little black bits in?

DermatologyDoc · 09/08/2019 20:48

This is a seborrheic ketatosis too. The black dots are called comedone-like structures. Can be frozen off but not on the NHS.

KettleOn919 · 10/08/2019 14:20

I was going to say it could be a seborrheic keratosis. I had one on my face last summer, and was whizzed to dermatology on the 2-week rule because my gp thought it could have been melanoma. But a seborrheic keratosis was what it was, and it was frozen off never to return.

Pictures on Google are not always a good indicator. Most pictures of seborrheic keratosis show raised, waxy looking lumps. Mine didn't look anything like them.