Hi there - odds are in your favour especially as no changes in recent weeks from your own monitoring. So you are catastrophising if worrying about leaving kids. Mole does need to be biopsied which involves an excision and unfortunately given my own experience of having what turned out to be a severely dysplastic mole on my tummy (not cancer but higher risk of becoming one in the future) a tummy excision is likely to make some activities difficult immediately after depending where exactly on the tummy your mole is. I didn't appreciate how much I used my tummy (breathing, laughing, talking, bending, twisting) until I had my excision.

So positive thoughts and actions. Get everything you can done in terms of moving things before not after your procedure. Not something to postpone as having the biopsy is the only way to know for certain what you've got. Make sure you get some relaxation in before your procedure. I was really nervous about one excision in particular (I've had at least seven lesions removed now - starting to lose track) and when I told staff I was feeling overwhelmed and why they were lovely and helped put me at ease on the day. Try not to worry in advance. But do put in place a bit of a support network if you can. You'll need to delegate in terms of lifting/carrying/helping with the children. I had a baby at the time of my tummy excision which was hard. Tell yourself you can do this. Deep breaths and some relaxation techniques if you start feeling anxious. Make a plan for yourself on how to deal with the anxiety. Visualise yourself well not ill - so thoughts of happy future not catastrophising. xx

Sunscared,

Thankyou for your reply.

yes, i need to try to not catastrophise and focus on one step at a time. I dont know what it is yet.

yes, good point about using the tummy muscles. Ill grt hubs to do any lifting etc in the days after.

we dont move for a few weeks, so hopefullynthings will be healed by then. How long did you take it easy after ur mole removed from the tummy?

xx

HI - struggling to remember now as several decades ago for the tummy. Last one on my back took a bit longer than usual to heal so a few weeks. But I had an extra margin taken I think (lesion was very inflamed). Similarly with my tummy excision. Also healing can be an individual thing. Hospital will be best placed to advise on the day. I'm a wimp and because they took a wider margin requested extra anaesthetic. It's the only lesion I've had to do that for. I blame the fact I had only recently given birth and was generally feeling a bit tender on that one. You'll be able to see how you're healing if it's on the tummy. Looking after back excisions is hard when you can't get a good peak at anything. Do tell the hospital about your move and get some specific advice. Forgot to say I edited my first reply slightly probably before you replied to include some extra advice about relaxation. Take care. All best. X

Thanks for this. Yes saw about the relaxation tips. Ive got a Calm app which im gonna use a bit more!

thats encouraging that they were so supportive to you with your removal and listened to you and took it on board. Im going to try not to cry! When i get nervous i get teary!!

the consultant said that as standard they take 5mm margin around the mole as well, so imagine ill have a few stitches to look after.

ill let you know how it goes xx

Thanks - I do understand how you feel as I get anxious too. And teary! xx