New Mole Appearance

[THoltz]

Good Afternoon everyone,

Last night I noticed a small brown mole on a private part of my body (I'm a male, 27 years old), I don't know if it is new but this is the first time I noticed it. It is very small and circular. It is brownish.
This has me slightly concerned as I don't know if the mole is new or not. Can new moles just appear? I'm not a moly person so I am hyperaware if a new one appears especially down there.

[nomorepanic]

Yes moles appear all the time - especially as we get older.

Keep an eye on it but you would know if it was something sinister from just the colour and texture of it.

[RadioGaGa]

I'll give you a "copy and paste" advice I have recently been giving other posters regarding moles and melanoma. I'm using this response as I feel it is simple to follow, and from a doctor who is very well respected in the UK Dermoscopy "sphere".

I "follow" a great mole-related blog, written by Dr Stephen Hayes in the south of England. He has case reports and studies on his website, which explain rather well the principles you should apply to your moles when examining them.

For convenience, I'll post them here: (He has tweaked the ABCDE rule slightly) (this is for the benefit of anyone reading who wants to know how to check their moles)

​A: Asymmetry - No mole will be completely symmetrical, but as long as you can draw a line through it and the symmetry is relatively good, it's OK. This can be at any point - e.g. from 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock etc. It doesn't have to be from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock

B: Border - the border should be clear, not indistinct

C: Colour - Brown or two shades of brown is alright (e.g. darker brown in the centre, with lighter brown round the sides). What is not okay is brown and black, brown and red or variations thereof. Three colours is NOT acceptable. In simple terms, your mole should be ONE colour.

D: Diameter - Although many benign moles can be several centimetres, and many melanomas under 5mm, if the size is changing or spreading, pay attention

E: Erythema: Dr Hayes says that "the more melanomas I see, the more I have become concerned about red in moles". Red/pink is never an acceptable colour in a mole. He has said moles with red must get urgent attention.

And don't forget the "ugly duckling" rule. The mole which looks significantly different from the rest of your moles deserves your doctor or dermatologist's attention. NOTE: SIGNIFICANTLY different - there is nothing else like it ANYWHERE else on your body

If your mole passes that simple examination above, you can rest assured.

[THoltz]

Thanks all for your responses. I was reading about Penile cancers and it seems they are rare for men under 50 plus the majority of penile cancers are SC Carcinoma.
My mole actually is kind of reddish but it is small.
I’m still worried about it. I will keep a watch on it.

[RadioGaGa]

Kinda rare? Penile cancer is very rare. It almost always occurs in uncircumsised ('uncut' men) who have phimosis (eg they can't clean under their foreskin) and have had ballinitis and other infections for a long time.

It could be an idea to show this lesion to your doctor - not because we can't diagnose it on here, and NOT because I think it's cancer - but because in the space of two posts you've gone from thinking it's a melanoma to penile cancer

While you're at it, mention your anxiety

[RadioGaGa]

Meant to say see your doctor because we *cannot*diagnose on here

[THoltz]

So that spot disappeared completely. Must have been a lesion or something that had to healed. It disappeared a week ago and haven't had any issue since.

[Hypo84]

Moles do appear all the time, nothing to be concerned about. I am 34, and a couple of new moles appeared in the past 5-10 years. Completely normal.