Hi Jer123,

I’m in a very similar situation to you at the moment, i’m 31 and 20 weeks pregnant. I have a mole that has become raised during pregnancy and i’m getting a shave biopsy done on Saturday (3 weeks after initial dermatology appointment because they said they were unable to do it on the same day). I am incredibly scared and worried and additionally worried about how the worry could affect my baby, i think about it all day every day and cry daily. It’s really impacted my pregnancy. The waiting is just horrendous.

I don’t have any advice to offer i’m afraid but wanted to let you know i’m feeling the same.

Em.

Hi Em,

I am so sorry to hear you are suffering the same anxiety - It is literally making me lose sleep at the moment and I can not get it out of my head.

I do know that pregnancy does crazy things to the body and it is normal for areas to become more pigmented as well as changes to freckles and moles so I keep trying to rationale my head with this as well as the dermatologist being so confident with me.

What did the dermatologist say at the time? I would like to think if they were deeply concerned at the time for you, they would have removed the same day so I am sending positive vibes your way completely!

I think pregnancy hormones with anxiety do not help, with my mole i really just did not like the colour it was so dark but 8 weeks ago was a normal colour. I have definitely had more pigment appear around my boobs and nipples etc though as well as new freckles that she checked over. 

Sending support your way x

Hi,

My doctor was a man of few words really, he didn’t do much to reassure me, just very matter of fact about the plan to biopsy. I didn’t really ask enough questions I guess so i’m going to try to get a bit more info out of him at my next appointment. My only positive is that he has chosen a shave biopsy instead of full removal, a very helpful lady on this forum told me that if they had a suspicion it could be melanoma they would remove the whole thing, so this applies to your punch biopsy too. But at the same time my over active mind worries that he only chose this less invasive option because i’m pregnant.. 

Out of interest did you go through NHS? My gp wouldn’t refer me as she put it down to pregnancy just from a photo but I want convinced so went private, but the waiting time seems to be just as long or maybe worse than NHS at the moment.

Wishing you all the very best as well x

Hi Jer & Em,

It's awful going through this worry at any time but to do so during pregnancy is even worse.

I can't add much to what you have discussed together, only to say that both procedures are ones carried out when the dermatologist is 99% sure that the mole isn't cancerous. Obviously they can be wrong sometimes, they are only human, but in the main they know what they are looking at. 

The chances of you both having melanoma are very slim and if you do have it, it sounds like you have both sought help as soon as you were aware - acting quickly means that the melanoma would be early stage & there is a 95% chance that you would never have a further problem in the future.

From my personal experience - I've had 6 moles/lesions removed since my melanoma diagnosis - some were ones that bothered me whilst the others were ones that my consultant wasn't sure about - all of them came back benign. So a removal doesn't always mean it's bad news.

With regards to private v NHS treatment at the moment - it's differing amongst hospital trust areas. Most, if not all, private hospitals gave over their facilities & staff to the NHS hospitals to help deal with capacity during Covid. Some private hospitals have been released back by the NHS but they are still playing catch up with their patients whilst some private hospitals and/or their staff (including consultants) are still being used by the NHS. So sadly, this impacts on the waiting times.

I know it's easy to say but try to distract yourselves between appointments. Focus on the fact that you are under medical care now and it won't be long before you know the results. Maybe some meditation or mindfulness (there is plenty on YouTube) will help calm you both at this precious time.

Good luck and please let us know how you both get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient)

Hi Angie,

I am so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but looking at a posts - what support you are to others! So thank you so much for the support you give, it is extremely appreciated and you are clearly very knowledgable. How are you now?

I think the thing for me that has set alarm bells was why did she want to look at the mole again in 3 months? Why that one and none others, she checked another I was worried about and it was a dermatofibroma. But she said this one was a mole, but it has 100% changed and extremely dark, but probably just smaller then 2mm so the 4mm punch hole would have extracted the whole of it and slight surrounding I would think. 

She did say to me, if she had thought it was a melanoma she wouldn't let me leave on the suggestion of returning in several months, but anxiety really is a nightmare. 

She did email and say that she is sure the results will come back completely benign, I hope this isn't her trying to ease my anxiety, she is so lovely. But at the same time very professional so I need to rationale and think she probably wouldn't say that x

Hi Angie,

As always your advice is so helpful and reassuring, thank you so so much, you are just so kind to be taking time out of your day to help people like us. 

Jer, your doctor sounds so lovely and it’s extra nice of her to email you, you are very lucky and it really sounds like you don’t need to worry, but I know of course you still will until you get a definite answer, i’m the same. 

I just had my 20 week scan this afternoon which was a lovely distraction albeit a temporary one.

I will keep you updated.

thanks

Em.

Hi, 

I'm fine thanks. I've been Stage 3 for 11 years now & I have no sign of melanoma at the moment so hopefully my luck has changed 7 it won't come back again.

It's quite normal for dermatologists to monitor a mole that doesn't present all the signs of cancer. They have certain 'tick boxes' when determining if a mole may be cancerous - the less ticks the more chance they monitor you for a short time. If a mole is turning cancerous it will change in some way or other as months go by (either size, shape or colour). If they see that a change has occurred since it was last checked, they then remove it. They do this in order to spare people having to have surgery when it may not have been necessary. However, some lovely dermatologists (like yours & mine) will offer to remove it if they think the stress of not removing it is going to be either than having a possible unecessary operation. I think you are getting extra care from her as she realises that you are going to be extra stressed out during your pregnancy. I would accept what she says as genuine and that she knows what she's talking about. Hopefully it will relieve the pressure a little more for you if you put your trust in her judgement. xx

Thanks Em. It's good that you had your scan to keep you occupied  today. xx

I am feeling an absolute wreck today, I have convinced myself I have found a swollen lymph (1) node under my armpit. 

Is this a possibility it has raised from the mole excision on my aerola? I am so worried at what I am doing to my baby being like this!

Firstly, were you checking your armpits for raised nodes or did you find this by chance? The reason I ask is because it's not unknown for nodes to swell because they've been prodded & poked too much. Are you aware of what your armpits are like for lumps & bumps usually? Some people normally have small lumps in the nodal areas anyway. 

How large is the node? Is it hard or soft? Is it mobile (moves around when touched) or static? Is it tender/painful or painless?

Whilst a swollen lymph node can be due to cancer, they are more often due to infection. Even if you aren't aware of suffering from an infection this can happen (it's happened to me before & I felt fine). It can also happen when the body is under stress - the lymphatic system works overtime to stop you from becoming tired & open to infection.

My advice would be 1) Stop touching the area as it will exacerbate any swelling 2) wait a few days & gently feel the area again. 3) If it feels the same or has got larger, contact your dermatologist who may arrange for you to come in & be examined.

Take a look at this video which has been done by Melanoma UK. He shows how to check the lymph nodes correctly. Checking the armpit area starts at 4mins 10seconds. www.youtube.com/watch

Meanwhile, I think contacting your GP would help. Tell them about your anxiety & how you fear it's affecting your baby. Hopefully they can suggest steps to help you deal with this ie. counselling etc. I know it's hard but try not to overthink everything. Hopefully you will get your results back quickly & they will be clear. xx