Hi,

I'm sorry you have this worry and it's good that it's going to be removed quickly.

Moles on the sole of the foot or palm of the hand are always treated more suspiciously than on any other part of the body, even if they don't match the ABCDE rules. This is because those parts of the body rarely have exposure to the sun so don't suffer from UV damage. As a small amount of melanomas are caused genetically rather than by UV damage, they always prefer to remove moles in these locations to be on the safe side. There is still a 95% chance that your mole is benign so hopefully that's the case.

As for the actual excision - I had one removed from the sole of my foot (found by my surgeon when I was face down on the operating table for one removing from my back)! The actual excision is quick & painless - the only painful part is when administering the local anaesthetic as the sole is one of the most tender parts of the body !! That only lasts a split second though. Post op, you will be advised to keep off your foot for the following few days (at least 48 hours) and to keep it elevated to stop any bleeding & to allow the wound to heal before putting any pressure on the foot. From Day 3 I was hopping around the house and I was walking OK after a week but only short distances & I couldn't drive for another week. Some hospitals give the patient crutches, depending on exactly where on the sole it was.

Mine came back benign which was a huge relief as it was on the same limb where my melanoma had been (right shin). The odds are in your favour that yours will be benign too so good luck and please let us know how you get on,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Thank you so much for the reply Angie - I feel reassured.

I am anxious but not overly, I work on the assumption everything is fine!  The most worrying thing is the swollen lymph node behind my knee as that is quite uncomfortable.  

I had a strange mole removed from the same foot this time last year although it was on the top of my foot (exactly above where this mole is).  That was okay so fingers crossed.

Again, thanks for the reply.

KC