Brown spot on sole of foot. Melanoma?

[Limeslime]

Ah man. Just when I was holding everything together.

I’m waiting for my smear test results
And
Waiting for an ultrasound on a lymph node.

Both of which are stressful but I was doing ok!

But now the straw has broke the camels back. I was getting out the bath this morning and noticed a brown ‘spot’ on the sole/ball of my foot.
It’s all one colour (tan) oval shaped and about 5mm x 3mm. It’s seems to be beneath the skin. It’s not hard and it doesn’t hurt. And I’ve no idea how long it has been there!

I went through a melanoma scare last year, but everything turned out to be ok, and I’d finally put it to rest. But this is stirring things up again!

Does anyone have any suggestions of any benign causes for this before I drive myself nuts (again!)

[CatLady1]

I have a big, asymmetrical freckle/mole on my foot too! I went to one of those private mole check clinics where a dermatology nurse checked it out with a dermascope, then referred the images to a doctor for assessment... it was just a harmless but wonky mole.

Do by all means get it checked for peace of mind, but FWIW, a mole that is uniform in colour, small, and (presumably) more or less symmetrical is very unlikely to be a melanoma.

[RadioGaGa]

I apologise for repeating this advice, for fear of boring anyone who reads the posts, but in a sense I'm not apologising if people find it boring because it's great "mole advice" from the blog of a well-versed expert on the subject of moles.

Dr Stephen Hayes runs a dermoscopy blog online, which is aimed at healthcare professionals, but members of the public can browse it as well (I would recommend this - it helps people see what reallyis a melanoma, and what isn't)

Criteria for getting your mole checked: It is new/changing/violates the ABCDE rule/is an "ugly duckling". So, on the basis that this mole is new, although you can probably tell yourself it is benign, a second check by your doctor wouldn't go amiss.

A - No mole is entirely symmetrical, but does the moles' colour show symmetry? This is more important than shape or outline in terms of melanoma risk
B - Is the border smooth and even?
C - Colour. Dark brown and light brown is OK, but brown and red, OR brown and blue is NOT okay.
D - Diameter, is this 5mm or less?
E - Erythema - there should never ever be red in a mole. This is a big red flag and must be seen urgently.

The Ugly Duckling Sign

This is the mole which is significantly different from your other moles. It's the mole that catches your eye right away. Of course, exercise a little caution here - EVERYONE is going to have one mole which also happens to be their biggest, or their darkest etc. It's the mole which looks NOTHING LIKE ANYTHING ELSE on your skin that you need to get seen urgently.

Dr Hayes recommends you get your spouse to check your back, as research has shown other people e.g. spouses are very good at identifying problem moles. Photography is another way to check your back and watch for change/new moles.

Also, if you have a tattoo - don't forget to check the skin which the tattoo covers!

Finally, on his blog, he has said that a mole on the foot is no more likely to be melanoma than elsewhere on the body.

Checking your moles twice yearly is not a sign of obsessive health anxiety. It's a good habit to form. It's when it becomes more frequent without reason (e.g. a history of melanoma) that it becomes health anxiety/hyper-focusing imho.

Good luck