Hi,

Please try not to panic and think the worst as there is a very good chance your mole is fine. It's not unusual for new moles to appear during our lives - the only time to be wary is if they appear after the age of 40 or they look unusual as per the ABCDE rules. If your mole is a normal size, shape etc and has only darkened, there is only a minute chance it may be a problem. Your GP will check it and see if it ticks any of the ABCDE boxes. If it ticks 3 or more they will refer you to see a dermatologist. Again, 75% of patients referred to dermatology get a clean bill of health (the moles are either benign or dysplastic) so there are lots of hoops to jump through before a mole is considered cancerous. Even if it turns out to be melanoma, 97% of patients are successfully treated so it's not as desperate a situation as you think.

Distract yourself from thinking about it until your appointment. Don't fixate on it and don't Google as it only aggravates worry. Good look with your appointment and please let us know how you get on.

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

First of all thank you so much for your reply. Secondly im 38. I did not notice it till it got dark. Then i went through old photos and realised it started as a light mark 2 years ago. I think its got dark over the last 1 year. Only recently i started googling and obviously i started thinking the worst. Keep thinking what if i have left it too late. Its on side of head same level as my ear. Weirdly a new one just a finger length is coming up small tiny. Looks like mole or skin tag. But today going gp. See what he says.