Cancer Research UK main site

Having Mole Surgically Removed, A Bit Worried

DetUK
Offline

Hello,

I'm 50 years old, and I've had a mole on my left calf since birth. I never paid any attention to it over the years, as it's out of my line of sight, and it never bothered me. However, around two or three years ago, I noticed it itching every once in a while, sometimes intensely. But it would stop itching after a couple of days and I'd forget about it again. It never seemed to grow or change in appearance (at least from a distance).

It hadn't itched for months until last week, when it started up again. On a whim, I picked up my phone and took a picture of it up close to see if anything was going on. I looked up the attributes of concerning moles, and it seemed to have a few, specifically abnormal borders and different colour shades. Out of an abundance of caution, I sent the photo to my GP, expecting her to tell me it was nothing to be worried about. However, she agreed that it looked concerning and referred me to a dermatologist. Yesterday, the dermatologist called and booked me in for an appointment today.

I went to see her this morning, hoping that she'd tell me it was nothing. But she examined it under magnification and said it looked inflamed and had some blue colour tinges. She recommended removing it and sending it for biopsy. She said that the fact I'd had the mole my whole life was encouraging and it might just be inflamed, but, while I could be reading into it, something in her tone and expression told me she thought it was probably cancerous. I'm having it removed the first week of July. 

I'm trying to be calm and not freak out, but I was just trying to be cautious by getting the mole checked out. I wasn't expecting things to escalate so quickly, so I'm a bit shocked. I mean, I feel fine, she felt my lymph nodes and those seemed fine. I'm a bit overweight, but I've been training for a 5k, trying to get back in shape after the winter lockdown. I feel good. But now I'm worried I waited too long to get the mole checked out and my health may be more precarious than I thought. 

No one in my immediate family and very few people in my (very large) extended family have gotten cancer. Most of my older relatives have died from complications of heart disease and diabetes. So here I've been jogging and watching what I eat to try to avoid those family health problems, and I might be a cancer outlier instead. 

Anyway, I'm sorry to bother everyone here. I think I just need to process a little bit and try to remain calm until I find out what's going on. Thanks for listening. 

Amy

 

  • Offline in reply to AngieT

    Hi, Angie, 

    Thanks for your reply. I hope I'll learn more about the amount of dyslasia and the surgical margins in the report the dermatogist mails to me. I should have asked more questions, but she woke me up when she called and I kind of blanked out when she said it wasn't cancer.

    I do know that she didn't like the look of that mole and was very keen to do a total excision instead of a shave or punch biopsy. I believe she initially drew a 1 cm margin around it when showing me how big my wound would be. I don't know how much was taken during surgery. I purposely didn't ask because I knew learning anything about its depth could potentially scare me more as I waited for the results. I hope the report fills in the info for me. I'll ask her for more details if I have more questions after reading it. 

    As for my experience with the NHS, it was amazing. Within one month, I had a GP consultation, dermatolgist consultation, excision surgery, and biopsy results. I was very lucky.

    I would also like to note that I'm a freelance journalist, so I sometimes didn't have health insurance when I was in the U.S., and, as a result, I might not have even bothered to have this mole looked at when I was there. The U.K. definitely has a far superior healthcare model than the U.S. when it comes to access and affordability. 

    That said, one thing that I think the U.S. does better is the promotion of annual health exams with your GP. This yearly once over, which typically includes a listen to the heart and lungs, a blood pressure check, blood screenings, lymph node and organ palpation, skin checks and a bunch of other things, picks up a lot of potential problems, including melanoma. On the other hand, if you don't have health insurance in the U.S., you don't have affordable access to this yearly exam. 

    The NHS is tremendous, but they seem to have more of a wait-until-it-becomes-a-problem approach to many conditions. As someone who has received care in both the U.S. and the U.K., I would say to always advocate for yourself and don't feel like you're wasting your GP's time by insisting they look at your moles once in a while, even if you have no symptoms. You have a right to look out for yourself. 

    I hope those comments don't offend anyone. The U.S. system could have killed me by being ridiculously unaffordable. But I know that annual exams in the U.S. have picked up a lot of health problems for me (when I had insurance) and family members before they progressed, and I want to encourage NHS users to be proactive and push for reasonable preventative health screenings, including mole checks, if their GP ever fails to offer them. 

    Anyway, thanks for all your helpful comments to me and others in my situation, Angie. You're an angel on this board. I wish you continued good health!

  • Offline in reply to DetUK

    Hi Amy,

    Thanks for thinking of me! I had posted my results in another thread but not this one yet. I was hoping you'd come back and post though I wasn't expecting it quite so soon!

    Yes haha I'm now going round looking at everyone's moles!! Melanoma really needs more awareness so let's all spread the word (and the sunscreen) ! :laugh: 

     

  • Offline in reply to DetUK

    Hi Amy,

    Yearly skin checks would be a brilliant idea but I don't think the NHS could ever afford the time & money to check the population of the UK. We have a 'half way house' in that, anyone who has presented with a problem mole and has a lot of moles, can sometimes access yearly mole mapping. Unfortunately the costs of the machines are expensive so only a few UK hospitals have them. I've attached a link to MelanomaUK who are continually raising funds to get a machine in as many Dermatology Departments as possible. Otherwise, people can pay for annual mole mapping at a private hospital - many patients who have dysplastic moles prefer to pay for the peace of mind. Maybe one day, when melanoma is taken more seriously by people (even though it's the 5th most common cancer in the UK) more funding will go into this. I hope you can access the link as it was sent to me via by Gillian, the founder of MelanomaUK www.facebook.com/.../1908397259219481

  • Offline in reply to AngieT

    Hi, Angie, 

    Thanks for the link, I'll check it out!

    I understand that the NHS lacks the funding to do annual health checks for people, and I'm much happier having a nationalised health system that guarantees care to people who need it than I was under a system that only provides care to those who can afford it. If I had been diagnosed with melanoma and ever needed extensive care at some point, I would have quickly gone bankrupt in the U.S.

    I just hope people will remember to advocate for themselves and ask their GPs to check out anything that concerns them, even if they don't yet have symptoms. Go private for certain health screenings if you have to. :)

     

     

  • Offline in reply to DetUK

    Totally agree. A lot of people either put off seeing their GP until they have something else more 'important' - I was one of those people! Or they don't want to bother their GP! Please bother your GP - you aren't bothering them, you are actually helping them & yourselves by getting it caught early instead of once it's progressed and needs a lot of surgery and drug treatment. :happy:

Speak to a nurse

Quick links

Follow us

Registered with Fundraising Regulator (logo)
Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.