Dodgy mole - skin cancer?

[Sleepyquest]

I've had a dodgy looking mole for a while
But lately I've felt it itching. I'm worried sick about it right now and will ring go first thing. But do you think it could be skin cancer? I'm due to give birth any minute also and it's under my breast

Doesn’t look that dodgy to me, I’ve just had a mole check and the ones the nurse was worried about were tiny, very dark and with darker and lighter speckles in them. They also had blurry borders, almost scalloped at the edges. By all means get it checked out but unless I’ve got the perspective wrong and the mole is bigger than 6mm (0.6cm), that doesn’t look bad to me. The nurse asked me if skin cancer ran in my family, so that’s also a factor.

PS even if it is over 6mm it’s unlikely to be anything dodgy. Also if it’s under your boob it won’t have seen much sunlight I would imagine.

Lastly we keep getting new moles until we’re in our late 30s/40s so while new moles should be checked out at some point, the appearance of a new one doesn’t necessarily mean it’s sinister.

Thank you @DasAlteLeid
I really appreciate you telling me all that! I don't think that's a great photo of it, but I agree that under breast would not see much sun and I'm not one who sunbathes either. Think I'm letting anxiety get the better of me

Here is a better photo in case anyone else can advise

You don’t need to have been sun bathing to get melanoma ! If there has been a change in the mole you need to get it checked out by a medical professional! Hopefully it’s nothing but at least take advice from someone who is medically trained !

This may help -

www.bad.org.uk/for-the-public/skin-cancer/melanoma-leaflets/abcd-easy-guide-to-checking-your-moles

@Mistymoors I did tell the OP to get it checked by a doctor, but having literally just been for a mole check with a specialist I thought I would pass on the advice I was given. A mole that hasn’t seen much sunlight is less likely to be malignant melanoma, the nurse told me to my face less than a week ago.

@Sleepyquest as I said get it checked out by the GP for sure, but I don’t think you should be worrying judging by what I was told to look for. Don’t give yourself a sleepless night for no reason x

If it has changed get it checked out.

@DasAlteLeid yes she needs to get it checked!! As for sunlight my partner is a surgeon and has removed many melanomas which aren’t always sun related!

Hi OP. Getting it checked is a good idea. But to reassure you, pregnancy hormones can have an effect on moles. It’s one of the times in your life where it’s not unusual for new moles to appear or current moles to change a bit. One reason they grow on your breast is simply that the skin is stretching there. So definitely call and make an appointment with the gp to get it looked at, but don’t panic yet because it’s changed, it’s likely to be fine.

Yes @Mistymoors that’s why I said it’s less likely, not impossible. And why I told her to go to the doctors in my very first post.

Sometimes it’s nice to reassure people while also giving accurate advice, rather than bowl straight in with the cancer stuff eh.

@DasAlteLeid totally agree , probably pregnancy hormones but let’s advise the OP to get it checked by a proper medical expert snd not a random on Mumsnet !!

I appreciate you all taking the time to advise and I am grateful for the non scary stuff as it helped me sleep last night.

I went to the GP this morning who has referred me to dermatology and hoping I will get seen before baby is born but we shall see.

Thanks again and will update

I had one like that on my back. I hadn't noticed it but went to the GP because it itched. I was referred for query Malignant Melanoma and it was swiftly removed. The result came back that it was a perfectly normal mole, no further action.

Sometimes, it appears that the only way of knowing is for a mole to be removed and tested in the lab.

I'm sure you'll get it checked @Sleepyquest and that's the right thing to do. So many moles are removed and they are completely normal. Fingers crossed that your mole will fall into this category.

Just seen your update @Sleepyquest. Most moles are harmless, try and concentrate on that.

I have countless moles, many fall in to the dodgy category as you read it but have been checked by a dermatologist when checking another growth and declared fine and normal. That doesn't even look dodgy (mixed colour, jagged edges) the area it is might make it prone to itching. Get checked though for your own peace of mind

@Sleepyquest I was referred for three suspect moles and the dermatologist said they are all fine. Better safe than sorry but I’m sure it will be absolutely fine x

Hi everyone I’ve had a lot of skin cancer and I’d like to add as well as checking your existing moles check for any changes on your skin. The most aggressive skin cancer I had was a growth on
the back of my knee that grew out of nowhere in less than six weeks. Even my dermatologist who I see very regularly thought it could be an insect bite at first because it wasn’t there when he saw me the previous month.

Why you asking that here

@liveforsummer

I have countless moles, many fall in to the dodgy category as you read it but have been checked by a dermatologist when checking another growth and declared fine and normal. That doesn't even look dodgy (mixed colour, jagged edges) the area it is might make it prone to itching. Get checked though for your own peace of mind

It's not a great pic - when you look close up, it does have jagged edges and more than one colour unfortunately and this is the GPs reasoning for referral. But I appreciate you taking the time to help and ideally I should have uploaded a better photo!

Thanks again all

I've had a couple removed and biopsied all fine so please don't worry while you wait.
Docs seems to have a just remove it attitude which is great but does increase the worry while you wait.

Just an update:

The doctor took one look at me, saw how pregnant I was and explained how much your skin can change in pregnancy. Mole is fine but having a follow up in 6 months just
To be safe.

Thanks for all your help

Excellent news, now you can concentrate on your impending motherhood ☺️ Best of luck with everything x

Great news. I have a visible mole that grew during both my pregnancies which is annoying from a cosmetic point of view.