Worried about melanoma at the moment

[Lolalee1]

You are lucky you live in a cold hole living here in Aus we have the highest rate of Melanoma deaths in the god damn world we just lay in the hot blazing sun and burn to a crisp and don’t think of the consequences until years later.
I am one of those idiots that cooked in the sun and have paid for it.

[nomorepanic]

For my tuppence worth, as a fifty year old very fair, freckly and moley lady, I would ignore the advice about staying out of the sun completely. Topping up your vitamin D is vital for a range of serious illnesses, not least covid, apparently. Twenty minutes per day is enough to get your Vit D up but not burn. Even on hot days I will walk around in the sun, keeping to the shade where I can. I never ever sunbathe and am always the total bore who can't sit in the sun when out with friends. Always wear a hat though, when it's very hot, and I stick with SPF50 on my face, pretty much all year round.

I wasn't talking about avoiding the sun completely. I was specifically talking about sunbathing in the sun - not just walking around etc.

[O_O]

Sorry to hear that, Lola. I know that in Aus the UV index can often be around 14, right?!

When I go in the sun it's normally a UV rating of 6. I've definitely burned with that in the past though. Now, with all these moles, I'm kind of freaking out.

Anyway, I'm going to see the derm on 1st September.

[WiseMonkey]

Good get it checked out and then relax and get on with life

[O_O]

Thanks Wise, we'll see what he says 😬

I think I may have atypical mole syndrome? Because I easily have more than 50 moles (more than 100, I'd say) and at least 1 is atypical (I think 3+). No family history of melanoma, which is one good thing. My body doesn't look as bad as the photos I've seen of people with the syndrome - my moles generally seem smaller and lighter and somewhat less abundant - but I think on the internet they always use the most extreme photos.

I'm furious with myself for spending so much time in the sun, and getting the sunburns. I honestly didn't know how great my risk was until recently. I didn't even realise I had more moles than most people.

[nomorepanic]

Stop researching and comparing things online.

Just move on from this now. You will get seen, most likely get the all clear and be fine.

You can't change the past so why dwell on it?

[pulisa]

Thanks Wise, we'll see what he says 

I think I may have atypical mole syndrome? Because I easily have more than 50 moles (more than 100, I'd say) and at least 1 is atypical (I think 3+). No family history of melanoma, which is one good thing. My body doesn't look as bad as the photos I've seen of people with the syndrome - my moles generally seem smaller and lighter and somewhat less abundant - but I think on the internet they always use the most extreme photos.

I'm furious with myself for spending so much time in the sun, and getting the sunburns. I honestly didn't know how great my risk was until recently. I didn't even realise I had more moles than most people.

The dangers of "research" and HA....

[O_O]

Here is my weirdest looking mole / possible melanoma. It's about 1.5cm long. So as you can see I have some cause for concern.

I've had this mole as long as I can remember. I did go to the doctor about it in 2016, when I didn't really have health anxiety, and he just said it was a large mole basically. I forgot about it after that. I don't believe the overall mole has got bigger since then, but the middle bit might have... and perhaps darker, too.

Even if it is not melanoma yet, this looks like the sort of thing that definitely could turn into cancer.

And obviously just having this sort of thing on my body drastically increases my risk generally. I have so many more moles, some pretty weird looking, but that's the biggest. Most of the others are <6mm, although several are a slightly odd shape with multiple shades of brown... so I guess would be classed as atypical too.

[utrocket09]

Attachment 5153 Here is my weirdest looking mole / possible melanoma. It's about 1.5cm long. So as you can see I have some cause for concern.

I've had this mole as long as I can remember. I did go to the doctor about it in 2016, when I didn't really have health anxiety, and he just said it was a large mole basically. I forgot about it after that. I don't believe the overall mole has got bigger since then, but the middle bit might have... and perhaps darker, too.

Even if it is not melanoma yet, this looks like the sort of thing that definitely could turn into cancer.

And obviously just having this sort of thing on my body drastically increases my risk generally. I have so many more moles, some pretty weird looking, but that's the biggest. Most of the others are <6mm, although several are a slightly odd shape with multiple shades of brown... so I guess would be classed as atypical too.

Why are you sharing photos? None of us are doctors and there is no way to know if a mole is atypical or not unless it is removed and biopsied.

[O_O]

Why are you sharing photos? None of us are doctors and there is no way to know if a mole is atypical or not unless it is removed and biopsied.

Idk, just so you can see where my concern is coming from I guess.

The mole is definitely atypical. It is a dysplastic nevus. What nobody can know at the moment is whether it's actually cancerous.

Having moles like that, cancerous or not, does greatly increase skin cancer risk, though.