Recurrent mole/melanoma fear

[Limeslime]

No it is a mole, but with a cyst growing on top of it if that makes sense. I've had the mole my entire life but this cyst is recent-ish. Your auntie is very right, they do look so different when they are malignant. I think with all the newspapers writing about all these horror stories makes us fear that we have it too.

Oh wow, how unlucky that the cyst grow on a mole! That would have freaked me out! I’m so glad your doctor was able to reassure you though. I had a mole frozen off in March, it’s actislly really satisfying! Watching the ugly thing slowly disappear over the course of two weeks was such a good feeling!
Hopefully your antibiotics will take care of it and it won’t come to that for you though!

[WiseMonkey]

The Drs here in New Zealand have a special glass they look through to see if a mole is looking like a melanoma. It's the same as the ones the skin specialists use. Most Dr's here do minor surgery ie removal of suspicious skin lesions.

NZ has one of the highest rates (along with Australia) of skin issues due to the intensity of the suns rays.

Moles and other skin things can grow/chnage without becoming malignant. If you're still worried just get it removed.

[Limeslime]

Moles and other skin things can grow/chnage without becoming malignant. If you're still worried just get it removed.[/QUOTE]

It is unbelievably difficult to get moles removed in the UK! Our doctors prefer the watch and wait approach unless the mole is undoubtedly suspicious looking!

I had a 1cm mole on my thigh that was three different colours, and it took me 15 years of begging before they’d remove it for me!

I had another mole on my nose which was big and in my line of vision. The NHS wouldn’t remove it for me because it was a cosmetic issue, so I had to pay £700 to have it removed at a private clinic.

[Limeslime]

UPDATE- just in case anyone is interested and also cos I need to write this down to help me accept it!
I went to see my GP today. He said it’s ok to change in shape aslong as it isn’t changing in colour and size. He said that any changes that would “raise a doctors eyebrow” would be severe and could be noticed even when standing a metre away from the mole!
He said that from a distance, mine just looks like an oval mole and to stop looking at it so closely.

How bizzare though! It goes against all the advice we hear about doing our skin checks!