Advice on discolored skin?
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Advice on discolored skin?

› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Advice on discolored skin?

  • Post
    • July 2, 2018 at 10:44 pm
    abbynormal
    Participant

    Hi. Sorry to be here when everyone is fighting hard battles but I’m having a minor episode and have no place to turn right now. I just noticed this tan oval on my back last week. I think I got a sunburn in that exact same area but it wasn’t just an oval burn it was a wider area. And at the end of May. Wouldn’t it have been gone by now? I was careful with sunscreen but some wore off and I did t reapply well enough  

    Does this seem like amelanotic melanoma? No itching or any surface changes other than the brown patch. It’s really faint in certain lights. Really scared, I’m sorry. No skin cancer history. Pic below, it’s the oval above that darker freckle

    http://tinypic.com/r/vshqfo/9

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  • Replies
      • July 3, 2018 at 1:11 pm
      Janner
      Participant

      So amelanotic melanoma doesn't' have any color – usually pink or skin colored but not tan.  And it doesn't look like melanoma at all to my untrained eyes.  This looks more like a birth mark or a solar lentigo or something along those lines.  It reminds me of a mark on my skin that I have always assumed to be a light birthmark.  You have two options:  1) watch it for change or 2) biopsy.  No one can diagnose this by just looking at a picture.  So if it concerns you, see a doctor.  That's the only answer.

        • July 5, 2018 at 12:01 am
        abbynormal
        Participant

        Thank you. I broke down and went to see my dermatologist. She said it looks more like a birth mark or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which was possible if I’d gotten burned there. I appreciate your advice. 

        • August 13, 2018 at 1:39 am
        kellylizzz
        Participant

        Interesting! My amelanotic melanoma was (is) mostly pink, red, and sherbertish yellowish colored. There was a small purple spot too that looked like a vein sort of. Is that yellowish color considered skin colored? 
        Here it is before any biopsies had been done: https://i.imgur.com/YrgAqND.jpg
        And here it is two days ago: https://i.imgur.com/JjUloYY.jpg

         

         

      • July 3, 2018 at 1:13 pm
      laurakoco
      Participant

      Hi there! Really the only way to know what it is is to go to your dermatologist as soon as possible. It’s good you are keeping track of your skin. Best of luck.

        • July 5, 2018 at 12:02 am
        abbynormal
        Participant

        Thank you. I was lucky and got in to see her yesterday. She wasn’t concerned at all. 

      • July 3, 2018 at 2:49 pm
      mwang122
      Participant

      I have one look exactly like that, I don’t know when I had it, maybe 5-10 years. But it was not a concern to my dermatologist at all. 

        • July 5, 2018 at 12:01 am
        abbynormal
        Participant

        Thank you. Mine said the same thing, that it didn’t look like anything to be concerned about. 

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