ams
09-07-09, 19:15
I've been largely anxiety free for months, despite a few nagging issues, but something recently has me again in a bit of a stew.
It began with a small spot, almost like a bubble on my arm. It's similar to something I have on my had that the Dr. said looked harmless to him, possible sun damage, but nothing to worry about right now. Still this thing on my arm (pearly, white bump) made me think I had basal cell carcinoma...but I decided to wait and see what happened to it. My girlfriend assured me that she's had spots like this, and I had to admit I didn't know if it'd always been there or not...
Sooo...I've had a small mole under one of my sideburns for a while now. I don't think it was there when I was a kid, but appeared at some point later in life (I'm 31 now), but it's hard to say when because I've had sideburns of some sort for probably 15 years now. I've felt it in the past, and at times it's gotten irritated or itchy, but it's nothing I've worried about previously.
Last week, though, I noticed that it seemed to be bigger, visible under my sideburn, and it feels bigger to the touch. I had my girlfriend look at it, as its hard for me to really get a good view of it, and she said it looked fine, perhaps felt a little hard, but it is right over a bone. As far as I can tell, it's pretty light in color, kind of a pinkish, fleshy color, and from what I can see (and what my girlfriend said), it seems to have consistent color, and well-defined edges. The surface feels a little uneven to me (feels like a little mountain with a peak in the middle rather than a smooth surface), but it's hard to tell. What worries me is its growth...how rapid is a benign mole able to grow? If the color, edges, etc. seem okay, is it still possible that this is melanoma due to rapid growth? It hasn't itched per se, but has felt irritated (though I have been messing with it more often than late), and the area around it has felt a little tingly/itchy...though this all started yesterday, so who knows.
I've thought about getting it checked out and lopped off, but also don't want to do so just to satisfy my anxiety. What do others think?
It began with a small spot, almost like a bubble on my arm. It's similar to something I have on my had that the Dr. said looked harmless to him, possible sun damage, but nothing to worry about right now. Still this thing on my arm (pearly, white bump) made me think I had basal cell carcinoma...but I decided to wait and see what happened to it. My girlfriend assured me that she's had spots like this, and I had to admit I didn't know if it'd always been there or not...
Sooo...I've had a small mole under one of my sideburns for a while now. I don't think it was there when I was a kid, but appeared at some point later in life (I'm 31 now), but it's hard to say when because I've had sideburns of some sort for probably 15 years now. I've felt it in the past, and at times it's gotten irritated or itchy, but it's nothing I've worried about previously.
Last week, though, I noticed that it seemed to be bigger, visible under my sideburn, and it feels bigger to the touch. I had my girlfriend look at it, as its hard for me to really get a good view of it, and she said it looked fine, perhaps felt a little hard, but it is right over a bone. As far as I can tell, it's pretty light in color, kind of a pinkish, fleshy color, and from what I can see (and what my girlfriend said), it seems to have consistent color, and well-defined edges. The surface feels a little uneven to me (feels like a little mountain with a peak in the middle rather than a smooth surface), but it's hard to tell. What worries me is its growth...how rapid is a benign mole able to grow? If the color, edges, etc. seem okay, is it still possible that this is melanoma due to rapid growth? It hasn't itched per se, but has felt irritated (though I have been messing with it more often than late), and the area around it has felt a little tingly/itchy...though this all started yesterday, so who knows.
I've thought about getting it checked out and lopped off, but also don't want to do so just to satisfy my anxiety. What do others think?