Spiraling into a full-blown melanoma panic...

[artist12]

Health anxiety is so insanely irrational...

I've had a dark brown mole on my rib cage, kind of under the breast, for probably about 8-12 months now. I noticed it out of nowhere one day although it's probably not the most obvious spot, either, so I'm not sure when it actually appeared. I have hardly any moles so this one struck me as odd. But basically all last year I has convinced I had neck/throat cancer so to be honest I didn't pay any attention to it.

Last night I decided it was definitely melanoma and am in a panic. I can't remember what it looked like before but I'm convinced it's changed (makes sense, right?). It's oval, mostly dark reddish brown...and the odd thing is that it's mostly symmetrical but still irregular borders. It almost looks like an oval which someone cut a little notch out of on one end, and another slight notch on the other end but more noticeable on the one end. It's nowhere near the size of a pencil eraser, fairly small.

I sent a photo to my mom, who is also a worry wort, thinking she'd say it was totally fine...but she said I really should go have it looked at. So now I'm trying to figure out how to explain to my family that I'm dying of this spot of melanoma which has been spreading throughout my body for the last 12 months because I didn't do anything about it when I first noticed it.

I have a dermatologist appt. this coming Monday, thank goodness. I'm petrified, though!

[LeighD]

If you haven’t noticed a massive change in almost a year signs are positive !! Also remember that there are many many different types of moles. Whatever you do DONT google. I’ve been sent into panics for no reasons many times as a result.
It’s great that you have an appointment so soon so that you can avoid (and I️ speak from experience here) constant checking!

[Charloco]

I'm going through exactly the same thing (have posted about it), I had a mole removed on Monday and am waiting for the results - apparently they can take a week to 10 days, which is excruciating and I'm in a TOTAL panic about it.

The doctor removed the mole because I asked him to, not because he thought it was suspicious, but I KNOW it has changed over the past few months as it was raised and darker than it used to be. I, too, am convinced I have melanoma and can't stay off Google. And now when I sneeze, I have a pain in my stomach - so clearly the melanoma has spread there (in my mind).

It's so exhausting and sad to feel this way. I am so sick of it. BUT in saying that, I do feel better now that the mole has gone and I can stop looking at it (I took photos but deleted them from my phone because they'd send me into a panic when I looked at them).

I hope your appointment goes well.

[artist12]

Thank you, Leigh! I keep trying to tell myself that I would have noticed it it changed drastically and that's why I didn't think much of it. But I can't help the feeling that it's somehow been lurking there for a while and silently spreading. I wish I'd been paying better attention to it when I first noticed it. I honestly cannot remember if it always had "notched" edges.

Char, I'm glad to hear I'm not alone (well, not GLAD for us, but you know what I mean!) Try to hang in there as well, I hope you get the results soon and that it's nothing. I'm doing the same thing now - equating other symptoms in my body to the spread of melanoma.

I have an appointment on Monday with the dermatologist and I'm debating whether I will ask him to remove. I guess I'll try to trust him!

[BrokenGirl]

I had a mole on my leg remove about a year ago and like you I was convinced it was melanoma. It ticked all the boxes for the warning signs of melanoma. I was so scared. Thinking I had let this cancer run through my body for months and months and now it was too late. I'd even made the mistake of looking at pictures on melanoma online (please don't do this) and mine was identical to many of them. I was a gonner, that was it, there was no way back from this....
Then when i got my biopsy results back i got the all clear. I nearly cried with relief. Melanoma is rare and most moles, even the dodgy looking ones, are just what they call atypical moles, meaning the look different to the normal mole but are benign.
At least you're going to a dermatologist on Monday. By what you've described it sounds like a benign atypical mole, which are very common.
Let us know how you get on but my gut is telling me that everything will be fine...

[Panicless]

Ive been going through similar things and i got my doctor to check all my moles. She suggested that if im worried about moles there are apps on your phone that you take photos of your moles monthly so you can check yourself if they have changed.

[Charloco]

Update from me: My mole came back as a benign intradermal naevus. Aka a normal mole. So much relief but then, of course, I found another one. I'm NOT going to freak out about this one. It's very small so I'm going to just watch it for changes over the next month.

[artist12]

^ Char, that is fantastic! So glad for you, hope you can rest a bit easier. Don't fret over the new one. We've got this.

I also just got home from my appointment a little while ago - the dermatologist said without any hesitation that it was totally fine. He said some people like to get them removed whatever the circumstances just so that they don't have to watch it for changes and panic, but that he saw no reason at all to remove mine unless I was adamant. It's funny how silly it seems after you get the word! I'm at least proud of myself for trusting him and not having it removed, haha.