Mole on leg (pictures attached) 2WW referall, can anyone talk me down?

[miniworry]

I have the worst health anxiety and not sure how I'm going to get through the next 2 weeks so wondered if anyone could send me any positive stories to keep me float in the meantime.

I've had this mole on my thigh for years, maybe 10 or more and it's always had this red ring around it. Never thought anything of it. Anyway I was in bed last night and felt it and thought it seems to have grown in th middle a bit. Booked a gp appointment today but could only see a physician associate who said she's never seen anything like that before so is referring to dermatology on the 2 week wait. I'm now gripped with fear it's going to be cancer and I've sat with it on my leg all these years.

Google has left me spiralling more and I don't know how to function at the minute. Any positive stories would be great.

It would reassure me that she hasn’t seen anything like it as skin cancer is so common.
Most people on the 2w pathway don’t have cancer so the chances are great that you don’t.

Over 90% of people referred on this pathway don’t have skin cancer. And of 200,000+ diagnoses each year less than 2% of people die from skin cancer.

So statistically you are very unlikely to have cancer at all, and if you have it, skin cancer is extremely successfully treatable.

Of course you feel worried, but try to remember that this is extremely common and you are almost certainly ok.

@APatternGrammar the rational pattern of my brain said that for all of a minute then I worried it meant that it would be some
Rare and aggressive type

If it were aggressive and you’ve had it 10 years then you know about it

If it's been like that for ten years without any ill effects, you're fine.

If it's been there for 10 years with the ring around it unchanged then it's unlikely to be skin cancer. Normal moles can grow due to hormone fluctuations. I imagine the physicians assistant is just being ultra cautious in getting in checked out.

Blimey, I've had loads of much more impressive moles for decades. I never think about them.
And, OP, if there's no issue - you're fine.
If there is an issue they'll sort it out and you're still fine.

Have you just had a baby/started perimenopause or anything like that?

Moles naturally become a bit more elevated with age.

Dc has a large mole on their face, been there since birth. One day, noticed it was much bigger/changed colour. Panicked. Went to GP who referred to derm. Turned out it actually just had an ingrown hair in it and was basically a zit Had no idea you could get spots on moles!

Looking at your pic op I'm wondering if yours is similar.

The physicians accosciate was more concerned with the ring around it I think, but that's the thing that's been there all along. Nothing I can find on Google looks anything like it except for things that say melanoma. I know I shouldn't look but I just panic.

If you’d had a melanoma for ten years you’d be very very ill. It just looks like an atypical mole I’ve got loads of them.

I’ve just been in the 2 week pathway for a mole that suddenly changed and was rather alarming looking. They took it off and all was well. Not cancer. Try not to panic

If it hasn't changed in 10 years. I am sure you are fine. I had one similar, which was removed, and found to be benign, but not normal. I had loads of other "not normal" moles, but none have been cancerous.

The NHS gets a bad rap these days, but both DH and I have had recent two weeks waits, and even a PET scan for weird anomalies found incidentally. All was normal or of no concern. I think they are doing pretty well these days on preventative checks.

Step away from Google.

Cockade nevus

could only see a physician associate who said she's never seen anything like that before so is referring to dermatology on the 2 week wait

And that, in a nutshell, is the issue with physician associates 🤦‍♀️

Sorry OP, I’m trying to think of something more helpful to say. The fact that a PA hadn’t see anything like that before is more a reflection of their incredibly narrow training, rather than a sign it’s anything particularly worrying. The good news is you’re going to be seen promptly, and hopefully by an actual doctor this time. Hopefully they’ll be able to assess you properly and put your mind at rest!

Physicians associates don't have extensive training like a doctor, so then saying they haven't seen anything like it doesn't mean much. In my experience they tend to refer everything that isn't obviously straightforward on the 2 week pathway because they don't really know what is serious and what isn't.

I had one refer me after an abnormal blood test and had me panicking but it turned out to be a virus. I didn't even get to the hospital, the hospital sent the referral back to the GP practice after looking at the test saying - this is a virus.

I’ve got exactly this on my thigh too. I had a mole check & the dermatologist barely spent a millisecond looking at that one, no concerns at all

Its never a bad idea to get a strange looking mole looked at. It doesn't help one's anxiety to have "2 week cancer pathway" on letters BUT that is to reassure you that it is being taken seriously and you won't have long to wait.
Even if it is melanoma, most of these will be dealt with by excision (removal of skin around the mole once the mole has been removed already) with no further treatment or development needed.
I would add that moles that have been around a long time can change, as happened to me but once I had the area around excised I've needed nothing else apart from to be vigilant with other moles.

I can get a private dermatologist appointment tomorrow morning for £170- would this be worth it for piece of mind so I'm not spiralling over the next two weeks?

That depends how much money you have

It's not very likely to be skin cancer and if it is, very unlikely to be something life threatening. I had something on my back that had been there more than ten years and was referred on the tww. They refer everyone that way because otherwise you have to wait 18 months at my hospital. A skin cancer that has been there for that many years is likely to be a slow growing one that stays local, nothing much to worry about.

As a HCP I can’t tell you if it’s cancerous or not because it’s not my place to, but what I would say is it’s VERY unlikely. I’ve seen skin cancers and they don’t look like this. However I appreciate that’s not my place to offer advice specifically.
I myself was referrred under the 2WR because I had something that all the GPs at work said they weren’t concerned with but better to be on the safe side. So try and think of it as that. Particularly coming from a PA, they’ll want to cover their backs rather than risk missing something!

OP I've had malignant melanoma from a mole I had all my life. I didn't pay much attention to mine either and when I finally did go to the GP it had changed dramatically. It didn't look anything like yours, but I suppose that's not really indicative of anything.

So I've been where you are with the wait. And the answer wasn't ideal. But you know what? It was fine. Being in the system is actively doing something about it which is the best place you can be. Even if it does turn it to be cancer, chances are will be a 'lesser' one like basal or squamous - and EVEN IF it's melanoma, treatment is very efficient and very effective. It's almost exclusively surgery, no chemo, no radiation, nothing gruelling. And then it's done.

I hope that's helps to reassure you, it's a worrying time but the outlook is very good.

I am frequently worried about skin cancer and I do not think you should worry unduly about this. Just wait to be seen in the normal way. PAs will not generally have dermatology expertise.