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New mole

Cha91
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Hi everyone, 

I have recently noticed that I had a spot appear on my face, that wasn't going. 
following advice from concerned family I booked myself in to see a dermatologist just to put their minds at rest. 
Well, I wasn't expecting for her to say that it is a mole and was surprised at its size considering I've only noticed it in the last 10 days. She's turned round and said I have a 70% chance this is  melanoma. She's going to send a letter to my GP to get an urgent referral as this was a private dermatologist I saw. She's suggesting that I have it removed sooner rather than later. 
I left the appointment a complete nervous wreck.

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    Hi,

    I can understand the shock you've had, especially if the spot/mole is so new. However, the fact that it is new is a good thing. If it turns out to be melanoma you have got it checked out straight away & that means you have a very good chance of it being early stage & easily treated with surgery.

    I'm hoping your GP will contact you to say they've received the letter & made the referral. Personally, if I hadn't heard from them after a few days, I would ring my GP and a) check they've received the letter and b) confirm the referral has been made, that it's a 2 week cancer pathway referral and ask which hospital it's been sent to. That way, if you don't then get an appointment within a week, you can contact the Dermatology clinic at the hospital to ensure they've received the referral.

    Hopefully the spot/mole will turn out to be benign or dysplastic (pre-cancerous). Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

    Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

  • Offline in reply to AngieT

    Hi Angie,

    Thank you for your reply. As you say if it turns out to be cancerous I've hopefully caught it early. Was just a shock when she said the statistics of it actually being cancerous. I honestly thought it was just a spot and not a mole as it's skin colour. 
    Apparently it's going to take 5 working days for her to send the letter to my GP, hopefully I'll hear from my GP next week, if not I'll give them a call as you've suggested. 

  • Offline in reply to Cha91

    Sadly melanoma is a crafty little cancer and can present in some ways you wouldn't expect. Amelanotic melanoma doesn't turn dark like a mole so is flesh or pink in colour. That's why you would never have realised it could be a mole.

    Good luck and please keep us updated xx

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