Worry about Melanoma.....

[fairyloveheart]

Hi There

I am worried about a blob on my tummy, it has been there for years and has got gradually bigger, first it was skin coloured but now it is going brown.

I did ask the docs about it about 4 years ago and he said it was a sebhorric keratosis and it would go black and may fall off?

Now I am worried it's melanoma. I don't know what to do.

Piccy attached...

[seeker]

it doesn't look (to my untrained eye!) like a melanoma - i had my moles checked over summer by a trained nurse and she said they are usually very very dark - black colour , with irregular, well defined edges. They also usually change rapidly - over the course of 8 weeks or so. if you're still worried, go back and ask for referral to dermatologist, or go to The Mole CLinic (often in big superdrugs) and pay £25 for them to look at it.

[fairyloveheart]

That's a good idea, I would be happy to pay to have it looked at. Thanks Seeker. I am such a worrier....if it's not one thing it's another....

[erialc]

Hi,
I had a similar thing and doc said it was the same, it has now faded and gone.
If you are still worried go back, I go a lot about my moles and they always say its better to check them out at least then you know

C x

[diane07]

skin cancer runs through my family, the changes to the mole are normally that fast and pretty much noticeable, you'd know. My son is covered in huge dark moles that i have to check constantly, my doc worked well with me showing me all the different pictures of moles that are cancerous, sadly my mum had one last week it was the size of a 5 pence piece, a week later it is the size of a ten pence, thats how fast they change, yours doesn't look anything like the ones i have seen, but i always say get them checked out anyway, for your own piece of mind.

But i really don't believe its anything to worry over

di xx

[vti2007]

I agree with the above, I have recently had some experience of this in my family and melanoma is quite easily recognisable once you have seen it especially as it advances . The pic looks Ok to me but I am not an expert and I must stress if you are at all worried then you MUST get it looked at. It is one of those that caught early it is not really a problem. I have seen one that looked really quite bad and it has not caused any problems once removed so don't worry yourself. Just get it checked out sooner rather then later for your own peace of mind.

[fairyloveheart]

Thanks everyone, I'll mention it again to the docs and see what they have to say. It's gr8 to have so much support on here.

Thank you for your kind and reassuring words

FLH