Hi username. Just read your post and I'm sorry you are feeling worried about the mole on your foot. I'm not a doctor, but it realy does seem unlikely to be anything sinister ,as you have said you have had it for a vety long time,plus you mentioned it's size and shape  have not changes in all that time either. I'm sure you would have started to feel unwell,extreme tiredness,, some pain if it was anything sinister. 

But as you are posting on here , your obviously worrird after googling your symptoms,shape,colour etc of your mole on your foot. So just call your gp,and ask for some advice,over a telephone consultation with a doctor,  or ask to be seen if your realy anxious still. It will be the best thing you can do  as worrying isn't good for you,it will hopefully put your mind at rest , or if it is anything that needs sorting out, it can be looked at.

Please let us know on here ,how you get on what ever the outcome,but as i said "' in my oppinion, if it was anything sinister  after all this time,you would of had other symptoms by now." But just get it looked at  ,by your gp., hopefully all will be OK.

Hi,

It's highly unlikely that after all this time it would be something serious, however, moles in odd places (between toes or fingers, on sole of foot or palm of hand) should be checked out for peace of mind. So I would take a few photos and then make an appointment with your GP. They will probably ask for the photos to be emailed to them so they can decide if they need to see you or they may even forward them to dermatology for their opinion.

Meanwhile, please don't scan Google for pictures etc. Every melanoma looks different - you can have two people with identical looking moles but one isn't benign. That's why dermatologists can't give a 100% diagnosis from looking at mole with the naked eye or even the use of the dermascope - any they think may be a problem they arrange a biopsy as that is the only way to confirm a diagnosis. 

So please contact your GP for your peace of mind. Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi thanks for the reply, I've been looking into my potential options and I just wondered if you were familiar with the boots mole scanning service ? 

My local GP practice is extremely difficult to get appointments for and it's taken weeks and hundreds of calls to get appointments previously.

The boots service seems much easier and more readily accessible? I just wondered if this was as accurate? It says the images as sent to a dermatologist so it sounds the same.

Thanks 

:happy:

Hmmm. I believe that they send the images to their dermatologist who decides if the mole needs further investigation. From what I've heard from someone who used it, they were then told to see their GP with the results of their scans & the GP must start the NHS referral service. So although this service takes some pressure off the patient presenting a mole to their GP for their assessment, it doesn't actually get the patient a referral to an NHS dermatologist so it's not a short cut. All roads lead back to the GP unless you can afford to have it examined & removed by a private dermatologist.

Personally, if I was in this situation I would really push for a GP appointment first as you will only have to go through it at a later date clutching your scan. Cut out the middle man & be forceful when asking for an appointment. Particularly ask if your practice has a GP that specialises in dermatology. Many practices now have these. Otherwise, if you can afford it, I would arrange a consultation with a private dermatologist. Their examination will be more thorough and, if they think the mole needs removing but you can't afford further private healthcare, they can send a letter to your GP instructing them to make an NHS dermatology referral for you. 

Thanks Angie for your reply.

I am just very confused how the plastic surgeon kept changing his mind on what he felt it is.  Feeling very anxius but hope I have caught it early.  I really dont know much about the skin cancers about from what I have read on the internet.  If is is BCC or SCC are this curable?

The one small spot on my forehead appeared out of nowhere a few years ago and i dont think it has grown, it is skin coloured and only about 3mm so I was not even concerned about it but he has done a punch biopsy

Thanks for your advice

Yes, BCC & SCC are curable in the majority of cases. They tend to spread on the skin rather than internally so it makes it easier to treat them successfully.