Hi,

Moles can change and still be benign. They can change for different reasons such as pregnancy hormones, trauma and UV damage. They can sometimes change due to friction but it doesn't usually make them grow larger.

If it's been changing over such a long period it may be dysplastic (precancerous) or it may be melanoma but it may not have grown deep under the skin so it hasn't produced any other symptoms (which only occur if it's spread). The only way to get an answer is from it's removal and biopsy I'm afraid.

I hope you aren't waiting too long for your appointment. Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

I just got a hospital appointment for 4 weeks from now, what to expect?

My dermatologist said they'll remove it and test it in the hospital, from what I've read they'll cut out the mole and nearby by tissue for testing, what if the mole is too deep, bad news? Or can normal moles grow deep? 

Normal moles don't grow below the epidermis so they sit on the first layer of skin. Precancerous moles haven't started growing below the epidermis but the cell structure and shape has started to change in the mole. Melanoma is where the cell structure and shape has changed and the mole has started to grow into the lower layers of skin. The less it's grown the better as, if it grows too deep, there is more chance a cell can break away, travel into the lymphatic or blood system and then travel to a lymph node and beyond.

At the initial removal of the mole they also take a small margin of surrounding tissue including the full depth of the mole. The mole and tissue is then tested to see if the cells are benign, precancerous or malignant. If malignant, they then do a second removal of tissue as a belt and braces procedure in case a cell has broken away into the surrounding tissue. This is called a Wide Local Excision (WLE).  Depending on the depth of the melanoma they may also suggest a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) - dye is injected at the site of the melanoma and tracked by Ultrasound to see which lymph node(s) it travels to. They remove the nodes and biopsy them to see if any melanoma cell has already travelled there. Most WLE's come back clear whilst a small amount of SLNB's are positive for melanoma. 

About 90% of melanoma diagnoses are In-situ (not grown below epidermis) or Stage 1a (less than 1mm depth and not ulcerated). These melanomas have a 97% success rate of cure after surgery. Melanoma deeper than that (Stage 1b or Stage 2) have a slightly lower success rate but even those that are very deep have a good chance of successful treatment.

Try to not forward think too much at the moment. The good thing is that it's getting removed and there is still a chance it turns out to be benign or precancerous.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Thank you! I'll try not to stress

My daughter had a mole on her back same sort of size as yours and went to the GP as she noticed it had changes of colour within it and the texture had changed. She was referred to the hospital on the 2 wk pathway. The hospital agreed that the mole looked suspicious and needed removing and were also not happy about a second mole on her back, fairly close to the other one and only slightly smaller. She was given an appointment whilst at the referral and had less than 2 weeks to wait.

She was told that due to the size of the moles and the need to take the clear margin of surrounding skin that there would be scarring. The actual procedure did not take long. Healing took a little while - their position on the lower back meant difficulty for bending or twisting and watching waistband positions on trousers.

The wait for results was a long one. She was given an appointment for about 8 weeks after the procedure but was told she could ring after 6 weeks to see if the results were back. She heard after 7 weeks that both moles were benign.

My daughter was only 19 at the time and away at university. Her consultant was lovely and reassured her when she removed the moles that she was not to worry, that even if they were cancerous they had been removed and reminded her that her chances of benign moles was high.

I wish you well with it all

My daughter had a mole on her back same sort of size as yours and went to the GP as she noticed it had changes of colour within it and the texture had changed. She was referred to the hospital on the 2 wk pathway. The hospital agreed that the mole looked suspicious and needed removing and were also not happy about a second mole on her back, fairly close to the other one and only slightly smaller. She was given an appointment whilst at the referral and had less than 2 weeks to wait.

She was told that due to the size of the moles and the need to take the clear margin of surrounding skin that there would be scarring. The actual procedure did not take long. Healing took a little while - their position on the lower back meant difficulty for bending or twisting and watching waistband positions on trousers.

The wait for results was a long one. She was given an appointment for about 8 weeks after the procedure but was told she could ring after 6 weeks to see if the results were back. She heard after 7 weeks that both moles were benign.

My daughter was only 19 at the time and away at university. Her consultant was lovely and reassured her when she removed the moles that she was not to worry, that even if they were cancerous they had been removed and reminded her that her chances of benign moles was high.

I wish you well with it all

Jesus, 7 weeks for results

Thought it would be about 2

Glad all is okay