Hi,

Yes, consultant's can get it wrong sometimes. I've had it happen twice where, due to my history of melanoma, I've been referred for biopsy on two moles that were thought to be melanoma. It turned out that they were dysplastic (also known as atypical or precancerous). Dysplastic moles are ugly ducklings that look concerning but the cells haven't yet turned cancerous. Hopefully yours will be the same, however, don't panic if it is melanoma. As Lyn has mentioned, treatment for melanoma is showing great success these days &, if it's been caught early, it can be successfully treated with surgery alone.

As for the swollen node - if it was connected to a cancerous mole it wouldn't go down & disappear - it would either stay enlarged or grow even larger. So it's probably not connected. The fact your mole was removed there & then is good in that you didn't have to wait between appointments. If consultants have access to time, staff & an operating theatre they will remove the mole there & then. My brother was under the same consultant as me & he had moles removed on the same day on two occasions, whilst it's never happened to me - his moles turned out to be dysplastic whilst my first mole was melanoma, so the swiftness of the removal doesn't always mirror the urgency and outcome. 

I hope you aren't waiting too long for the results and that they bring good news. Please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi Angie, thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I feel a little calmer today and these replies sharing experiences are definitely helping. I’m trying not to look on the internet too much as it’s truly terrifying. I will certainly let you know when I eventually receive my results xxx 

Hi Angie, thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I feel a little calmer today and these replies sharing experiences are definitely helping. I’m trying not to look on the internet too much as it’s truly terrifying. I will certainly let you know when I eventually receive my results xxx