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Advice on discolored skin?

Forums Cutaneous Melanoma Community Advice on discolored skin?

  • Post
    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
        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.

            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. 

              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

                 

                 

              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.

                  abbynormal
                  Participant

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

                  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. 

                      abbynormal
                      Participant

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

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