dermatology appointment :-(

[miss diagnosis]

Hi all

Im really nervous about appointment with derm on thurs.
i know you those of you in the UK give out about the NHS but i have been waiting 18 months for an appointment!

I have a mole on my arm. I didnt notice it until about two years ago as its on the back of my arm where i cant see.i only noticed it after a bout of chicken pox.its v small and brown but the area around it is a much lighter colour.GP refered me to derm "to be on the safe side" but i had another doctor look at it and he said it was nothing. He looked at it again the other day and said it was still fine. It hasnt changed or anything but im so worried in case its melanoma.
please help

[joannap]

as far as i know - melanomas go really dark not lighter and it it was melanoma - i am sure it would have changed in two years - i had a lumpy mole removed from my head a few yrs ago - not because it was a risk factor but because i hated it - they sent it off to be tested - they just like to make sure so i am sure your gp is being super cautious rather than thinking there is anything wrong with it x

[countrygirl]

My son has had one of these on his neck since he was about 10 yrs old and he is now 30 it has a name like solar neavus or solar something and its your immune system trying to get rid of the mole hence the white skin around it. another way to check if more is fine is see if it has a hair growing out of it as cancerous moles kill any hair follicles so will not have hair growing out of it - the derm told me this when my son was 12 and he had it checked - she said it would probably fade over time but he still had it only not as noticeable as it was when he ws younger.

so yes get it checked for your peace of mind - I have seen a melanoma on my aunties arm and it was black and crusty with a deep red edge round it and looked horrible.

[miss diagnosis]

went to derm

took a look at my mole and said it has to be removed.
he said it didnt have any charactaristics of melenoma and not to worry but they have to take it off to be sure.

Im TERRIFIED.what if it is melignant and its spread everywhere?
worse still he asked me have i any other moles and i said no cos i dont have any other ones that havent been checked..but maybe i should have said yes anyways...complete panic

[lecb]

Please don't panic - a dermatologist is an expert and i am positive they would not tell you not to worry if they were worried it was cancerous.

They probably want to remove it for scientific purposes - really don't panic. I know it is easier said than done, but be encouraged - if your doctor thought it was malignant and had spread everywhere, they'd be giving you a CT scan! If they're not worried, there's no need for you to be.

Deep breaths and remember, you are fine. x

[lavender123]

i didnt know wether to tell people about my problem with my skin, last year i always noticed a red sort of blemish on my right cheekbone, but didnt take a lot of notice, one morning i woke up with my right eye puffy and A SORT OF SPOT, where the red blemish was, i thought it was a insect bite so took no notice, anyway i went to the doctors and he asked me if i wanted to see a dermatologist, which i have, and firstly she said it looked like a infected pore, and she squeezed it and said it should heal up. when i went back last month, she said it hadnt healed as she wanted it to, and sent me to have a biospsy on it, the surgeon looked at it and felt it and said there was no lump and no pus under it, and he said do you want a scar, as all there is a blemish, but he didnt look with the magnifying thing they use, the spot is tiny but on a sort of red area, and itches now and again, i have a appointment to go back to see the doctor, in two weeks, and i am scared as i know whatever this thing is, it should have gone away after nearly 4 months. maybe its something nasty. any information would be gratly appreciated. thanks. please excuse spelling