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Mole change and pregnant

Toni1985
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Hi everyone, I noticed a mole at the back of my leg go from being raised and brown to having brown and red pink pigmentation. I have been stressing myself out and crying all day yesterday with worry. 
 

I went through my Fiancé's private health care as my GP was taking too long and I wanted to speed things up. I sent a photo of the mole to the online GP and had a chat over the phone. I have now been referred to dermatology  and they are sending camera equipment out for me to take photos of the area and upload via the app. 
 

I am 8 weeks pregnant and very scared. I'm trying to stay calm but if I am honest I dread the C word. My stress levels are high and really struggling to think of anything else. 

3 years ago next month I lost my Mum to cancer it was mouth cancer and not related to moles but it just scares me. She was like Wonder Woman no matter what she kept upbeat when she must have been so scared herself.

I have instantly started worrying what if it is cancer, what if it has spread, what if I didn't notice it in time. I got asked what the change happened I felt like I was guessing in a way. My sister brought my attention to it by saying it looked different and she has only made that comment whilst I have been pregnant. I also accidentally shaved the area 2 weeks ago so not sure if I have made it change myself.

just really worrying I've gone from being excited about my first pregnancy imagining our lives to wondering if I will still be here to enjoy all of them things. 
 

Sorry I don't mean to sound dramatic. I'm just worrying 
 


 

I should have the camera equipment by Monday so I will take the photos then I'm just dreading what will come back.

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    Hi Toni,

    OK, take a few deep breaths and try and calm the stress for a moment.

    I'm sorry to hear you lost your mum to cancer not too long ago. It's natural to feel extra worried when you lose a loved one to cancer and you are now in a position where you dread being told you may have it (even though it's a different type of malignancy). The odds of you having cancer because your mum had it aren't raised - it has no bearing on whether your mole is malignant or not.

    However, pregnancy is a bearing on a mole changing. Existing moles can often change or new ones appear during or just after pregnancy because of the change in hormonal levels. It doesn't necessarily mean the mole is now cancerous, it may just have changed. Even if it's not pregnancy related, moles can change or new ones appear up to the age of 40 - it doesn't necessarily mean they are cancerous but they do need checking out to be on the safe side. So it's good that your hospital are getting photos taken so that they can analyse them and decide if they need to check them in person or if they are fine but perhaps need monitoring for a while.

    It sounds to me like you and your sister have noticed the change pretty quickly and you are getting it checked quickly so, even if it is melanoma, it won't have had time to spread. I left mine for a year before getting it checked - that was 25 years ago! So a few weeks here or there won't make much difference.

    75% of patients referred to dermatology do not get a melanoma diagnosis so the odds are on your side that it will all turn out fine. For the moment I suggest you concentrate on keeping yourself calm as it won't help your pregnancy and you may be worrying needlessly about something that turns out to be benign. Try some meditation or mindfulness (lots on YouTube), yoga or a massage or even a long bath while listening to music or a long walk in the countryside - all these will help calm your stress. 

    Good luck with the photos etc and please let us know how you get on,

    Angie (melanoma patient)

  • Offline in reply to AngieT

    Thank you so much for your reply that has made me feel better. I have just been thinking the worst since yesterday and it does help to talk. I should have the camera by Monday so I have been told the camera results come through quite quickly after. I will keep you updated xx

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