A mole 'down south' - treat it differently? - Cancer: Skin Message Board

FearfuL · 02-17-2005, 06:38 PM

Alright, so let me just lay it out there and hopefully some of you can give me some insight.

I have a mole on my vagina, on one of the lips.

The thing is, the actual mole doesn't have me concerned. If it were on my arm, I wouldn't think much of it. It's generally 'normal' looking.

My REAL concern is WHERE it's located. Like I said, if it were on my arm, I wouldn't be so freaked out. A lot of us have moles and not all of them should always be suspected of something. But vaginal cancer/melanoma is so rare that I wonder if I'm bound to get it because the mole is there.

Does anyone think or know that a mole down there would be more likely to be cancerous - or is this a silly way of thinking and I should treat it as if it were on any other part of my body?

Belle2003 · 02-18-2005, 10:03 PM

I had a big, raised dark brown mole on the lips also. I had it removed at age 18 along with many other moles. I had never heard of melanoma back then, but I had many moles in very inconvenient places. Like a large, raised one on my arm pit (really hard to shave there) and one where my pants waist band would rub it raw. The doctor agreed that all of these should come off. It was embarrassing but I grit my teeth and did it.

Now I am totally thankful that I was so uninhibited at such a young age. It would be difficult to have to monitor that mole for any changes.

If it worries you, tell your dermatologist that your monthly pads are irritating it and you can't stand it any longer. You get the idea. Get rid of them and you will have two less things to worry about!

wild_thang_386 · 02-19-2005, 03:42 AM

i would think....if its normal looking then u have nothing to worry about it. i also thought this was strange when i saw it. i always thought the sun caused moles and here i got 2 where the sun dont shine. i just dont remember all the signs to look out for...1. odd shaped, 2. discoloration (sp?), 3. ????. does anyone else know the other 2 signs of cancer in moles??? also what was the color of cancer--->brown?

FearfuL · 02-20-2005, 09:39 AM

heh, thank you, Belle! How did they remove it down there? Shave or took the whole thing out? Ack, I'm sure that wasn't an uncomfortable few seconds.

By the way, if you see this, I hope you don't mind me asking another question. In another thread, you were talking about one of your biopsy wounds healing on your chest. Was that a shave biopsy as well? How long did that take to heal? Mine is still kinda dark right now (been close to a week); I guess it's supposed to get lighter.

And wild thang, cancer can be any color, but I think they're usually dark. Though that doesn't mean just cuz it's dark, it's cancer.

The 4 things they usualy tell you to look out for are the ABCD's. It's easier to remember this way I think.

A - asymmetry. If you folded it in half, would they match up?

B - border. Are the edges jagged?

C - color. Are there different kinds of pigmentation?

D - diameter. Is it larger than 6mm?

BonBe · 02-20-2005, 12:37 PM

well Lee Lee I had the similar thing. No shave, my doctors would not even think about that.

I had an excisional biopsy done, and it came back a thick (4.00 mm) Malignant Melanoma putting me to a stage 2B. The biopsy scar was about 2 inches like a happy face, but the WLE is about 7 or 8 inches long from shoulder to shoulder about 2 inches below the nape of my neck. If I wore scooped back neck stuff it would be gross.

IT is a small (very small ) price to pay knowing there are clear margins. However it has put me into the 'system' and I am following the rules, haha Oncology appt every 3 months Derm appt every three months, and CT scans every six months (upped from every 3 months due to chest nodules) Personally I would rather be alive so scars are nothing. (I am also older like 54) so really in the great scheme of things.... who really cares.... as long as it is caught. I have to have two more suspicious things removed, upper inner thigh, and mid back on the spine...so I am not looking forward to that. But I am thinking ever so positive that it will all be ok.

My first mole was huge, ugly and raised. Black as midnight too! it had been there for years but just a small flat thing.... My family doctor did not think it bad cept for the size, and neither did the plastic surgeon she sent me to for removal. All moles must be biopsied so the normal course went its way. The dx was shocking to us all, and in 6 days from the stitches from the biopsy removal and the pathology was read, I was in hospital having a WLE then six days after that, I had my first melanoma onocology appt set at a major cancer hospital here in Toronto. An offer to take part in the clinical trials for 'randomized study of four weeks high dose IFNa2b (interferon) but I had to decline for family reasons.... my situtation now is vigilance, by all these doctors and myself and if a reoccurance happens it will be dealt with. Melanoma is def not a walk in the park..... so even though I never sun tanned in my life, (sit in shade) I was burned a few times when I was a kid, and that is prob part of the reason. Just all of you be smart, cover up, slather on stuff, and wear wide brimmed hats, and just follow the rules.

That is where we sit now. SO yes when in doubt cut it out, and never allow a shave to b e done, as LEE LEE says a true stage cannot be determined on a shave. My mole had a thickness of 4 mm which is the high end of stage 1 puts me up a stage....and they do not mean how big is the part we see on our bodies....it can be small on top but wide in the bottom, but mainly if caught in time, and removed all is well.

I seriously doubt I could be that brave as Belle was at age 18 now that would freak me out...(now as well) one of the next two set for demolition haha is upper inner thigh, that is embarassing enuff for me..... (*but that is just me)

Take care one and all
Bonnie