My 21 year old, college student daughter noticed a mole on her wrist in the fall. During the winter, it darkened, and in the spring, suddenly grew very dark and began to itch. She delayed having it looked at for several weeks, due to final exams, her sister's wedding, and maybe just not taking it seriously, but on the day of the wedding it began to bleed.
She went to the dermatologist within the week, and the reaction was not good. "Those are serious red flags," the dermatologist told her very soberly. "Good thing you came in when you did. We will let you know the results of the biopsy as soon as they come in, and we will deal with whatever we find."
Wow. Even the dermatologist was concerned! So began the week of sheer terror that so many people in this forum are familiar with, waiting for the results. During this time, I think I read every post on this board, looking for hope, inspiration and strength, as well as information. I found all.
I also realized that if we had looked at that mole as soon as it began to change, I would be much less frightened. I know that if I had to live those months over again, I would have had her to the dermatologist at the first sign of change in the mole.
Yesterday we got the call. That ugly, dark, itchy, bleeding mole was, in the words of a quietly happy dermatologist, "completely benign." It was apparently just an irritated mole after all.
So please, please, if anyone is wondering, is afraid to have an ugly mole looked at, it is completely possible that it is nothing. Don't put it off out of fear. Don't put it off at all. Don't delay. It may well turn out to be nothing, but the sooner you get to a professional, the more likely that outcome will be.
Heartfelt best wishes to all the posters in this forum, who have helped so much this past week, and to all those who come here seeking help and support in the future. My thoughts are with you all.
Last edited by ORTNmom; 06-25-2011 at 09:02 AM.
Reason: sp
The following user gives a hug of support to ORTNmom: eddysmom1 (07-03-2011)
The Following User Says Thank You to ORTNmom For This Useful Post: Kali333 (06-25-2011)
Thank you so much for posting this. I had an "itchy" mole removed on Friday and am awaiting the biopsy results. I am really trying not to freak out and this post helped alot.
Glad to hear that not everything turns out to be the scary C word
The following user gives a hug of support to Mstic1: ORTNmom (07-11-2011)
It's true - I've heard and read from several people on here that they've had some scary looking moles and they've come back completely fine. I always have some odd looking (in my opinion) and the dermatologist didn't think they were to worry about at all. She told me (well, I see a nurse practitioner at a derm office, but I believe they are just as qualified as anyone to look and spot a bad mole) because I've had them so long with no changes, they were nothing to worry about. She did of course take a mole that apparently had a white outline that faded from light brown to a darker brown as it went to the center. It came back benign, so no worries!
Now, I have two that I'm a little worried about and having them checked a second time. Sure, I went a month ago, but I want to know that these two are no problem and told that. After that, I'll be happy and just watch for any changes in my moles.
I think the internet and news articles tend to make things a lot more scarier than they appear. It's really unnecessary to scare people like that - they certainly scared me. But, I realized, just watch your moles - keep track of them. If they change, go to the derm - if a new funky one appears; get it checked out. Go to an annual check up and you're good!
Last edited by sunshinexo; 07-11-2011 at 06:25 PM.
I couldn't agree more. It seems like all we hear are the scary stories...but for goodness sake, the technology exists to stay right on top of this, so it would be foolish not to do so, just so we keep it in perspective. Best of luck with the moles.
I also had a mole on my arm once that was crusting over, itching, and bleeding. It even seemed to get darker!
It turned out to be benign.
I'm not sure why this happens sometimes, but it's always best to get it checked out, just to be on the safe side!
