Mole change

Hello

i just wondering if someone has had a similar experience to me please. I have a mole which has a faded edge and noticed it had grown and looked bit odd last October. 

I was referred on two week referral, and the consultant I saw said he wasn't sure if it was ok or not, so then he went and got another consultatant who looked at it and said it looked fine and asked me why I was there. When I explained it had changed colour and grown, he took some photos and juts said we will see you back in 6 months snd sent me on my way . It all felt a bit rushed and they didn’t really explain why they wanted to see me again and I left feeling bit confused.

so I was due a review in April which would of been 6 months, and despite chasing the nhs and been told I’m on the list and they are very busy, I’ve finally got an app for 3 weeks time and in now feeling very nervous. If my mole is malignant, in concerned about the implications of my app been 5 months late, and not sure of the reason he wanted me to go back in the first place. 

thanks for listening xx 

  • Hi,

    He wanted to see your mole again to see if there has been any change over the last few months. They do this when the mole isn't concerning them but they like to keep an eye on some for a while. If your mole hasn't changed in the last 9 months I'm sure they will be happy it's still fine. Good luck,

    Angie, Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009

  • Hi Angie

    Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it.

    I’m not 100% sure if it’s changed, it’s hard to say as it’s an odd shape and dif colours which is what prompted me to get the referral in the first place. Also it sounds silly but I suffer with severe health anxiety since losing a close family member from cancer who was young, which I’m trying to deal with, so even when I check moles I can’t trust my judgement as to if it’s changed, which is part of my issue. But I have asked my husband to look at it periodically and his in opinion it looks the same as it did 9 months ago.

    Think I’m just struggling with the fact they wanted to see me in April and it didn’t happen, so it’s been on my mind every day for months and just trying to manage that and they didn’t reallly take time to explain things. I really appreciate your post it was very helpful, so thank you xx 

  • Hi there, how did you get on? 

  • Hi, thanks for your message. Well I eventually got an app and they said they will continue monitoring, so due to go back again to have it looked at. So can’t have been immediately concerned as not removed it yet. How are you? X 

  • I went to the go about a mole on my back, it s different shades, irregular border etc the nurse said to check every fortnight, my anxiety is really bad at the moment, another nurse looked at it today and referred me...I wonder why one did but one didn't? X

  • Yeah i was referred by my gp, but they haven’t removed it yet and just monitoring it. Mine has changed too and diff colours and border etc, but so far they haven’t felt it needs removing, so just goes to show, not all changes is immediate concern or means it’s cancerous, but always best to get to checked x 

  • Think rhey prefer to refer, if any doubt and have it checked my a dermatologist x 

  • Thanks for the chat, because this one is on my back I'm not sure just how much it has changed,  it's slightly raised bit not rough, doesn't itch or bleed....but there's a lighter patch on it I thought looked odd? I need to stop looking at pics I've done the right thing in getting the ball rolling. Hopefully I get an appointment soon x

  • If it makes you feel any better I had one on my back which went black, diff colours and grew and my consultant wanted it removed as looked concerned, because it changed to black and it came back absolutely fine. So some changes can happens without, it been sinister, but if in doubt they will monitor or remove x 

  • I’ve got one on my back, and was referred beginning of feb. Saw dermatologist 21st March and they said best to remove it due to colour pigmentation. Other than that it looks ok, it’s brown with a paler brown patch in the middle. On my notes it says biopsy needed also due to history of sun burn and freckles on face. But I’ve been monitoring since feb and it’s not changed at all so hoping it’s ok. Still got to wait another 2 weeks for it removing and biopsy. It will have been 12 weeks waiting from GP referring to having it removed!