Fear of having melanoma

[getharchangel]

Alright, I've posted before a few days ago since I'm new around here, forgot to check back..but I am not back to worrying about something new! I keep thinking I have melanoma- there's this weirdly shaped black mole-thing on my thigh, and it's starting to scare me! Yes, I am 15, and I have been worrying non-stop about many things in the past few weeks due to having a respiratory infection. The bad thing here is that I've been looking up pictures on Google images to see which one looks most like my 'mole'. I am still thinking that I am starting to get this cancer, yet my thoughts are continuously telling me to quit worrying and that I'm fine. Yet the other half of me still thinks that I have this skin cancer!

[uru]

I was like that at 15....I'm still alive ;)

You don't have skin cancer if that picture is anything to go by. Also 15 year olds don't get skin cancer, as far as I know. My 86 year old grandad has skin cancer. The cancers grow out of his head, nose and face. He has them removed and he's doing fine.

[Hypo]

Looks like a normal mole to me.

The edges are fine, the colour is fine and the size is fine. I have tons of moles just like yours.

15 year olds can get skin cancer, but it is very very rare, melanoma in itself is not as common as we think. Your chances of getting it at this age are extremely slim.

You are 15, that is no age at all, please please please get help for your HA if you aren't already. I am 34 and wasted so much time worrying, please don't let that be you. You are so young and should be out there having fun, not worrying about your health so much. Take all the help you can get with your anxiety and nip it in the bud, it is much easier to get over HA if you haven't already had it for years.

The first thing to stop is googling. No more google. I know it is hard but it is not a GP and will only make your anxiety worse, it is one huge step against beating this. Stop googling.

As for your mole, as I said, I'm not a doctor but it looks healthy and normal to me but with anything monitor them once a month, if it changes see your GP. It wouldn't hurt to mention it to your GP if it keeps worrying you but if you haven't discussed your anxiety with a GP yet go make an appointment, talk through your fears and ask for help with your anxiety.

[MrsDavies]

Alright, I've posted before a few days ago since I'm new around here, forgot to check back..but I am not back to worrying about something new! I keep thinking I have melanoma- there's this weirdly shaped black mole-thing on my thigh, and it's starting to scare me! Yes, I am 15, and I have been worrying non-stop about many things in the past few weeks due to having a respiratory infection. The bad thing here is that I've been looking up pictures on Google images to see which one looks most like my 'mole'. I am still thinking that I am starting to get this cancer, yet my thoughts are continuously telling me to quit worrying and that I'm fine. Yet the other half of me still thinks that I have this skin cancer!

I used to have the fear of Melanoma, in fact, it's what set my HA off in the first place :( from the picture, to me, it looks like a normal mole, I too have lots of them like another poster said but I like to call them beauty spots! Ha! I would urge you to NOT GOOGLE, it will always come up with the worst possible scenario and bypass all the normal, everyday, common ailments & illnesses. As for your age, it's extremely unlikely you could even get Melanoma, it is normally seen in older people from years in the sun. I'm only young myself, not long turned 20 and it took me a long time to realise that it's super unlikely and to believe my doctors. If your fears continue, you can go to a pharmacist about moles, they know what to look for and saves a trip to the doctors. I honestly wouldn't worry though! Like another poster said, if you haven't already, try and get some help for your HA as tackling it while it's still fairly new really can make a huge difference.

[KayeS]

I'm not even joking, I have one that looks exactly like that. In fact that picture could have been a picture of my one lol.

[pulisa]

It's a normal mole

[lucass]

Dear getharchangel,

I know exactly what you are going through. I had this fear for about a year, got moles checked and even removed. I googled a lot and thought i was recognising a beginning melanoma in the same kind of mole you showed us. Youre worried because of the shape and differet collors in it right? You googled and found some information about how to identify a melanoma right? It said that if a mole is showing multiple colors and have an asymmetric border then it is suspicious right? Because of your fixation on it it looks more terrifieing than it realy is. It looks perfectly normal, i have a lot of moles like this one and got them checked by a dermatologist. who assured me that they are perfectly normal. even if they have two colors of brown and an elevated part, it are normal moles. These are called "compound naevus", those are normal. dont google it because the results allways show melanoma too which will freak you out. At your age this is realy nothing to worry about.

[Anxietysufferer92]

Hello hun! Sorry to hear what you are going through. I am a massive melanoma worrier as I have lots of moles that are irregular, ragged, discoloured and my dermatologist have said said they are all normal and just because it looks like melanoma, it does not mean it is. Your mole looks absolutely fine.

[hollyfrance28]

If your worried get it checked out :) chances are you are fine! I have felt how your feeling right now, and I know its hard but try to let your logic in, 15 years old and having to live with anxiety, you are a very strong person. i have had this exact thought many times before, i always felt better having a check. and turned out i was fine :) xx

[getharchangel]

It's good to know that I am not the only one suffering from these fears! I think I will go to the doctor sometime soon to check them out anyway, because it is seriously worrying me to death! I now think that I have breast cancer due to noticing a slightly 'inverted' nipple. I have been trying to stop using Google, but a part of me goes 'no, look at it anyway! you're going to have this!'

[the_anxious_mind]

That mole looks perfectly normal! No worries! If you are scared, just let a doctor have a look but I can almost guarantee they will say it is completely fine! At 15, I wish I had of known what I know now 10 years later. Please please get help for your fears. In time, it will only get worse. Nipping it in the bud early will make it easier for you later in life!

[nirvanainchains]

At your tender age of 15 years old you should have that YOLO attitude(You Only Live Once). Hang out with your brother/sisters, friends, mother and father,or anyone. Go travel, go study and enjoy school, watch movies, read books/novels, go to parties, go for a brisk walk, listen to music, anything relaxing. Don’t let HA consume your teenage years. You should consider visiting a psychologist or psychiatrist to manage your anxiety rather than being pre-occupied with health anxiety.
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I don’t want you to regret it someday, ‘cause at this point: I regret that I have let my health anxiety took over my time, Now I am 1 year(13 months) of suffering with almost all anxiety symptoms because I have let it control my body. Because of that IBS developed, palpitations(in the early days of my IBS) , passing out twice, chest pain, lightheadedness, back pain, headache, panic attack(early days of my IBS), Constipation(Due to IBS) , GERD, etc.. All of that developed after a stressful event that made me into a HEALTH-ANXIOUS-GOOGLE-THE-SYMPTOMS-AND-GETS-MY-OWN-DIAGNOSIS guy. I still do Google but as soon as I sense that I am going too far I’ll stop.

[Worried 24/7]

I have a mole that looks just like that on my arm and it has been there as long as I can remember. I am thirty and I don't ever remember not having it

[Masonn]

This is incredibly reassuring. I have a mole just like this I've been worrying about also. Nice to see it's quite common to have small dark moles like this lol.