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mole worries again - what a surprise

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gummyrozzo

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so my moles have been a very anxious focus for me for a couple of weeks now. originally i was concerned about two on my chest, but i went to the doctor who sent pictures to the dermatology department who said they weren't worried about them. this calmed me down but i have recently started fixating on a mole on my left arm that im 99% sure has actually grown recently.
it used to be about 2mm by 2mm but now it's about 4mm by 2mm and has a little spot in the centre that's slightly lighter than the surrounding pigment. i wouldn't call it a white spot but it's definitely lighter, and i don't think it was there before. that spot is also a little raised.
im trying really hard not to panic - I just turned 18 and i hear it's natural for some moles to grow in adolescence - but the possibility of this being a melanoma is scaring me. i was referred to dermatology for some extra pictures they wanted and as soon as i go there im asking to have this thing biopsied, it's completely freaking me out. ive gotten especially paranoid since learning that having 50+ moles puts you at "drastically increased" risk of skin cancer, and i have about 80. not fun!
im currently just trying to comfort myself by saying that if it actually was something bad i normally wouldn't have even noticed (my health anxiety only started in june, caused by Corona and then spread to other aspects), so it's good that im going now and potentially catching something early, rather than living in ignorance and having something awful happen.
any kind/logical words are greatly appreciated.
 
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bigjetplane6

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I am going through a lot of scares. I was going through the a mole scare as well. Now I’m hooked on another scare but that’s another story.
Anyways, I went to the doctor for my moles. He looked at them and said he wasn’t concerned. I explained to him I didn’t have them all my life, they had definitely changed in color and size, and I was nervous about them. He said it’s very normal for moles to change, in color, size, etc. They could look very bad and still be normal. He gave me the option of taking it out or leaving it but he was sure they weren’t bad. He left the option up to me, and I decided to believe him in those one and went home. Of course I went home with blood pressure problems and then the next day, I had another appointment and another medical problem but the mole problem went down my priority list.
What I’m getting at is. moles can change and mostly are due to benign reasons. You’re ok!!!!!
 
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gummyrozzo

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bigjetplane6 said:
I am going through a lot of scares. I was going through the a mole scare as well. Now I’m hooked on another scare but that’s another story.
Anyways, I went to the doctor for my moles. He looked at them and said he wasn’t concerned. I explained to him I didn’t have them all my life, they had definitely changed in color and size, and I was nervous about them. He said it’s very normal for moles to change, in color, size, etc. They could look very bad and still be normal. He gave me the option of taking it out or leaving it but he was sure they weren’t bad. He left the option up to me, and I decided to believe him in those one and went home. Of course I went home with blood pressure problems and then the next day, I had another appointment and another medical problem but the mole problem went down my priority list.
What I’m getting at is. moles can change and mostly are due to benign reasons. You’re ok!!!!!
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that's good to hear that even changing moles can be harmless! my mum has told me this too, she's had a couple of growing moles and they've never amounted to anything, but im sure you know how HA always convinces you that youre the exception. may i ask, how many moles do you have in total, and how many did you think had changed?
 
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bigjetplane6

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gummyrozzo said:
that's good to hear that even changing moles can be harmless! my mum has told me this too, she's had a couple of growing moles and they've never amounted to anything, but im sure you know how HA always convinces you that youre the exception. may i ask, how many moles do you have in total, and how many did you think had changed?
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Oh I definitely know the struggles of HA. Trust me!!!
In total I have probably around 30 moles and 2 are definitely changing. These are the same 2 I went to the doctor for. Changed in color and size, and they even have a weird border and 1 of them has 2 colors to them. Everything that it shouldn’t have, it does.
 
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Belizz

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My mom once had a big mole, the tag like ones you know, like a sack :p
and one day she showed it to me asking "can you check, what do you see?" and I freaked out because the tag almost grew out a strange tree branch-like thingies (small of course) and I panicked. It looked soooo strange. She was so calm.
Then I forced her to go visit a dr. They said it didn't look bad but still removed it and biopsied. It came back ok.

But I tell you, it looked like a mutated space alien.
"So such things can happen" was the first thing it made me think. Which is good to remember in anxiety times.
 
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Joshua1

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gummyrozzo said:
im currently just trying to comfort myself by saying that if it actually was something bad i normally wouldn't have even noticed (my health anxiety only started in june, caused by Corona and then spread to other aspects), so it's good that im going now and potentially catching something early, rather than living in ignorance and having something awful happen.
any kind/logical words are greatly appreciated.
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You have to explore on the definition on what you have before coming to serious conclusions, such as cancer. I do not think you have cancer, you have to reassure your mind and work on supporting yourself and on easing your mind. Study on it through google and also see your doctor, for more information on it.
 
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gummyrozzo

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Joshua1 said:
You have to explore on the definition on what you have before coming to serious conclusions, such as cancer. I do not think you have cancer, you have to reassure your mind and work on supporting yourself and on easing your mind. Study on it through google and also see your doctor, for more information on it.
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totally agree, luckily i was able to calm down these past few days and realise what i was worrying about wasnt realistic. like seriously, this mole has grown 2mm total and im pretty sure i imagined the light patch. going to the dermatologists soon regardless so theyll be able to set me properly straight. thanks for the logical words, in a much better place now
 
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gummyrozzo

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bigjetplane6 said:
Update ?
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alright now! i was ok for a couple of days after last posting on this thread but then things got rough and i ended up spiralling really fast and really badly. my dad managed to find me a dermatologist online bc i found out my referral was going to take longer than i thought - not sure if u can find it now but i made a thread about the whole debacle. anyway, the online derm (who was licensed, btw, i looked him up) ended up saying that i should go to get the mole physically checked in person to be safe incase it got weirder, but he thought there was basically no chance it was a melanoma. that put me at ease to hear a medical professional confirm there was nothing cancerous going on, and ive just been keeping an eye on the mole while i wait for my face to face appointment (might be a while, there's a backlog). still looks exactly the same, hasn't grown and isn't bothering me at all. i'll be thankful to finally get to that appointment though!
 
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bigjetplane6

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gummyrozzo said:
alright now! i was ok for a couple of days after last posting on this thread but then things got rough and i ended up spiralling really fast and really badly. my dad managed to find me a dermatologist online bc i found out my referral was going to take longer than i thought - not sure if u can find it now but i made a thread about the whole debacle. anyway, the online derm (who was licensed, btw, i looked him up) ended up saying that i should go to get the mole physically checked in person to be safe incase it got weirder, but he thought there was basically no chance it was a melanoma. that put me at ease to hear a medical professional confirm there was nothing cancerous going on, and ive just been keeping an eye on the mole while i wait for my face to face appointment (might be a while, there's a backlog). still looks exactly the same, hasn't grown and isn't bothering me at all. i'll be thankful to finally get to that appointment though!
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How big is it now? Has it got any darker.
 
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gummyrozzo

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bigjetplane6 said:
How big is it now? Has it got any darker.
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it was 4mm by 2mm when i noticed it back in early september, hasnt grown since then. exact same colour, too, as far as i can remember, though of course if i notice any changes ill be popping to the gp :}
 
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