Scared about mole!

[Emira7]

Hey

I have a mole on my left shoulder which sits underneath my bra strap. I had noticed that it had turned slightly red in places. Not sure when I discovered this.

Anyway, I took myself off to the doctors. I saw her last Tuesday, and she looked at it and has referred me to a plastic surgeon to have it removed.
She said moles on shoulders should be removed as exposure etc...

I asked her if I had anything to worry about and she said no. That was it. But the referral would be quick, she said they are quite good at the hospital.

This has set my health anxiety of big time, I am becoming obsessed that i have melanoma. and have been googling, crying. :weep:

I am so so scared. What if i have skin cancer?

emira
xx

[bex1970]

Don't panic - loads of people have moles removed - sometimes out of cosmetic reasons, some out of caution, some out of suspicion.... it doesn't mean skin cancer... when a mole changes from it's previous appearance, most doctors like to remove it - just in case.... it doesn't mean melanoma or anything straight away... it just means they are acting out of caution. My cousin, who lives in South Africa, has had seven removed - all because her doctor wanted them done to be safe... she hasn't got skin cancer, they were just taking precautions - all of them have turned out to be fine. Yours will be too.

[sahara]

I have had 3 moles removed because they were irritating - one that sat under my bra strap like yours and was red because of rubbing.

Please don't worry. I am sure it will be absolutely fine.

I am paranoid about my moles and check them constantly so I understand how you feel.

[Emira7]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I am trying to be positive, but you know what this Health Anxiety is like.
Sahara, thats reassuring, it sits right under my strap, such an awkward place!! But its quite red in places.
I hope its nothing, waiting for my appointment to come through
xx

[sahara]

I certainly do know what it is like :hugs:

My mole under my bra strap had 'suffered trauma' (Nothing to do with cnacer was mentioned!) according to my Dr from being there - ie the strap constantly rubbing had caused some of the mole to come away so its no wonder it maybe red in places in your case. I really am sure that is the only reason it is red.

Imagine if you rub your skin in the same place all the time - it will go red - so will your mole.

Please try not to worry too much

[Emira7]

Hey
Well I really hope thats what it is. My GP did not mention cancer, and when I said should I be worried, she said a flat No.
But you know what its like, all those nagging thoughts :-(

Thank you
xx

[Wee-Mee]

Is a mole the same as a freckle??

Cos I have a freckle type thing on side of my face and it started growing a hair out of it years ago and I kept cutting the hair and it has another hair out of it! :weep:

[NoPoet]

A mole is "sort of" like a big freckle.


I asked her if I had anything to worry about and she said no.
:)

[diane07]

Emira,

this should put your mind at rest, skin cancer runs through my family, believe me, if the doc thought it was slightly in danger of becoming cancerous, you'd have already of had it removed, it is that fast.
I have had moles removed too because of near my bra strap and the seams of my tops were it rubbed, let me tell you, didn't feel a thing it was a piece of cake.

you honestly have nothing to worry about

di xx

[justbananas]

i had a mole removed last year because it was actually different colors AND bleeding. GREAT. turned out it had just been rubbing against my bra and was irritated. they biopsied it and it was all normal. my ex-boyfriend always had weird moles removed that were pre-cancerous, but got them totally cut out. unless it's ginourmous and showing lots of problems, it is usually caught early and not fully developed into melanoma. basically i just wouldn't worry about it. you're doing the right thing in getting it checked - we should all do skin checks, yearly.

[PoppyC]

Hi Emira
I had quite a large mole on my chest removed. It was not cancerous. I thought it would be cos it was changing however it was fine. Most moles are but its best to have them removed if they are being rubbed by bra straps. I hate anything to do with surgery and am terrible when it comes to pain, however I felt absolutely nothing when it was removed. I had it done at my doctors surgery and it was numbed before removal and stitched afterwards. I honestly felt nothing.

[enigmatique]

I've had two removed just cos they were in risky places and like everyone else has said the procedure itself is really simple and painless.

A friend of my Mum's had a cancerous one, and it was literally the fastest ever turnaround between her seeing the GP and the operation, because if they think it is nasty they do it damn quick, so the fact that they're being quite relaxed about yours means you really don't need to worry that it's a bad 'un. I know that's easier said than done :)

[Wee-Mee]

What is melanoma??