Hello [@Pyjamaparty]‍ 

I just wanted to say hi as I am in a similar position to you so know how you feel.

I had a very suspicious flat mole (that I've always had on my leg) removed nearly 3 weeks ago. I had it checked out by the GP 3 years ago who said it was fine and sent me on my way. I've kept an eye on it ever since and just recently realised it had very definitely changed and had basically all the signs of melanoma other than being >6mm (mine was just under). I am not sure when exactly it changed though as I didn't take pictures and I've had a stressful past few months so maybe I've just not noticed for a while. I too am beating myself up for not getting a second opinion long ago or monitoring it more closely with pictures :(

I have my results appointment in 3 weeks and it is so hard waiting. I am pretty sure it will be melanoma from what the dermatologist said, it has all the signs and I have a family history.. I was convinced my time was up that first weekend after she told me I needed to get it removed!

But often I think we focus on all the worst possible scenarios and forget about the better outcomes. I am trying to focus on those possibilities, and remember that there is a good chance it has been caught early enough that it is treatable through surgery alone. Maybe my mole was fine 3 years when the GP looked at it and has only recently become cancerous? I believe most cases are caught in the early stages so chances are that even if yours comes back as cancerous (which it may not!), it will be early stage which is very treatable. Maybe try to focus on that and the fact that whatever it is, it is now removed. Also do not make my mistake and incessantly Google.. it will only cause more anxiety as I think it tends to focus on the worse cases and less on the many, many more positive ones. 

Best of luck with your results. Happy to chat more if you'd like.

Hi Pyjamaparty & blobby89,

I'm sorry to hear you are both awaiting results from mole excisions and that you are worrying that you left it too long. Please take my advice - DON'T beat yourselves up about it. Everyone does it and now focusing on any delay will not change things. You have to take whatever the diagnosis is and deal with it from now. There is still a chance it could come back benign (as happened with 5 of my 6 mole excisions) I did the very same 25 years ago - I left the dodgy mole on my shin for a year before I got it checked out. It was early stage melanoma (only grew to 0.7mm depth in that year) and although I later progressed to Stage 3 (my bad luck as it only happens to 5% of Stage 1 patients) I am still here 12 years later, fit & healthy. 

As blobby says, focus on the fact that it's now been removed and is no longer causing a problem. There is still every chance it can be benign or early stage & that you will have no further recurrence. Even for later stage, melanoma treatments now are showing great promise - it's not like 10 years ago when there was nothing they could do! 

With regard to any other moles (past or present) that worry you Pyjamaparty, just point them out to the consultant and they will check everything. The tiny one that disappeared - don't worry - moles can do that at any time, it doesn't mean they are dodgy. 

Keep busy to distract yourselves from worry & from Googling (old information). Hopefully the wait for results won't be quite as long as they've indicated. Good luck to both of you and please let us know how you get on,

Angie

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond[@AngieT]‍. I know you post here regularly and your words are always so encouraging!

I have been given an appointment to get my results in mid June. I will definitely come back and post how I got on either way. Managing to stay positive for now!

Pyjamaparty - if the mole was both flat and only 3mm in diameter then it would seem exceptionally unlikely that it could be anything other than a very early stage melanoma, at worst. Melanomas tend to grow sideways (radial growth phase) before they start to grow downwards.  That's why most melanomas that spread anywhere are already more than 0.5 mm at diagnosis. An exception is nodular melanoma, which is the most dangerous type, but its hallmark is that it rises above the skin (rising above the skin indicates downward growth). So if it's flat and only 3mm in diameter? If it's anything bad at all, then I'd be very surprised if it hadn't been caught early.