This explains what to look for in moles & freckles. If you are still unsure if one of your moles/freckles is suspicious, get in touch with your GP. They are the best people to help either put your mind at rest or refer you to see a dermatologist.
Good luck, hopefully your moles & freckles turn out to be fine,
I have an appointment Wednesday! I’m so nervous and have really bad anxiety do you know what I should expect and what will happen at the appointment? Thankyou so much for taking your time to reply! Wish you all the best x
Is your appointment with your GP or a dermatologist? If a GP it will depend if they specialize in dermatology. Most GP practices now have one GP that specialises and they are trained to examin moles using a dermascope. This is a magnifier that shows if the cells have changed from normal. It incorporates a camera so they can also take photos if they feel they need to send them to dermatology. If they think it looks suspicious they will refer you to dermatology under the 2 week pathway. If they are unsure they will send the photos to dermatology where they will examined - the dermatologist will then decide if they need to see you or the mole looks fine.
If the GP isn't trained to use a dermascope they will look at the mole & decide if it meets the criteria for a referral. They give points for any of the ABCDE rule that it matches & if it scores 3 or more points they will refer you as previously mentioned. www.melanomauk.org.uk/the-abcde-rule
If it's a dermatology appointment - they too will check the mole with a dermascope & decide if it looks suspicious enough to be removed for a biopsy (this is the only way to 100% diagnose if a mole is cancerous). 75% of patients referred to dermatology find that their mole is either benign or dysplastic (aka atypical or precancerous) so they are fine. Of the 25% that are melanoma, many of these are caught early so surgery will successfully treat it. The rest may also need drug treatment along with surgery.
I know it's frightening but you have a good chance it will all be fine. Good luck tomorrow & please update us as to how it goes.
