› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Small mole on thigh w/ two black spots
- This topic has 8 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 9 months ago by
wildpoppy.
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- June 17, 2018 at 3:31 am
Hello, I am new to the community. I am writing because today I noticed a small mole on my thigh, circular, about the size of a pencil tip (one mm). I think I may have had it before, but today it seemed to be a darker brown. (I am fair-skinned, and all of my other moles tend to be light brown.) Tonight I looked at it under a magnifying glass, and it seems to contain two tiny black dots, like blackheads or pin pricks. That would account for its somewhat darker color.
Does this sound like something I should be concerned about?
I'm seeing my primary care physician in two days on another matter, and I'm wondering if I should ask him to take it off and biopsy it, or whether instead I should make an appointment with one of the physician's assistants at the dermatology clinic I go to and have her do the excision. Or does it make a difference whether a PCP or a dermatological PA does it, in terms of competency? It might be several weeks before I can get an appointment with the physician's assistant. Also, should I have a punch biopsy or have it sliced off?
Also, I'm assuming since it's so small, I'm probably in good shape, even if the biopsy should come back positive?
Thanks for any feedback you can provide.
Ben
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- June 17, 2018 at 6:41 am
You need to get it looked at by a demotologist immediately. Call them and make sure you are very clear that you have a suspicious mole that may be melanoma, they should make exception and get you in a lot quicker. Only they can tell you for sure. And to be clear, size has absolutely zero to do with how good or bad a mole is. It can be as tiny as a pin prick but if it’s deep then it could have serious issues. Just do yourself a favor and get it looked at as soon as possible. Your PCP may not even biopsy/excise it without a dermatologist seeing you first, you’ll probably just get a referral. Call the dermatologist in the morning, don’t waste any time. Melanoma is not something to play cautiously with. -
- June 17, 2018 at 6:41 am
You need to get it looked at by a demotologist immediately. Call them and make sure you are very clear that you have a suspicious mole that may be melanoma, they should make exception and get you in a lot quicker. Only they can tell you for sure. And to be clear, size has absolutely zero to do with how good or bad a mole is. It can be as tiny as a pin prick but if it’s deep then it could have serious issues. Just do yourself a favor and get it looked at as soon as possible. Your PCP may not even biopsy/excise it without a dermatologist seeing you first, you’ll probably just get a referral. Call the dermatologist in the morning, don’t waste any time. Melanoma is not something to play cautiously with.-
- June 17, 2018 at 11:57 am
Thanks. I will try to get in with the dermotologist, and will call Monday morning. However, if my PCP agrees to excise & biopsy it Tuesday, wouldn't that be just as good? Or he might botch the excision?
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- June 18, 2018 at 3:33 pm
Well, that's a call you would have to make for yourself. But think about it this way, a Derm does excisions everyday as well as examines moles everyday … how many times a month do you think your PCP does these things? I'm not trying to be a smartass, I'm just being honest with you. Just another reason why I don't think your PCP will do it either, and will most likely just refer you. So another reason would be to save you an extra medical bill through your PCP.
As for the biopsy, either way they are sending it to the lab so your results will most likely be similar and if positive, they will most likely be excising margins anyway. But good luck and try not to get too freaked out anyway.
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- June 19, 2018 at 3:24 pm
Thanks again, Aldrich. I actually got in this morning w/ a physician’s assistant at the dermatology practice I go to; I had called first thing Monday morning for an appt, as you had recommended, and, as luck would have it, they’d had a cancellation; otherwise I was looking at the end of July for the soonest available appointment, even with their three PA’s. Today the PA looked at the mole, measured it (1 mm), and said it was a perfectly normal mole.
I mentioned that it was an “ugly duckling,” in that it looked different from all my other moles, which are light brown and fading into nothingness as I age. This was very small and seemed to have gotten a bit darker. She said moles sometimes do that, but offered to punch it out w/ a 3 mm. punch if that would ease my concerns. One stitch and two minutes later, the deed was done. I get the stitch out and results in two weeks’ time, although she seemed confident the report would be a mere formality.
However, I am happy to have it out all the same, as I had a college roommate who died from melanoma many years ago, after having a mole on his sideburn misdiagnosed by a physician, who told him it was nothing to worry about. I’ve spent way too much time over the past three days examining this little guy through a magnifying glass. And despite having had this birthmark since, well, shortly after birth, and now having it suddenly gone—well, to quote the singer John Waite, “I ain’t missin’ you at all.”
Good luck in your battle. I will keep you in mind.
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- June 20, 2018 at 3:19 am
That’s fantastic, here’s to positive or I guess rather negative test results on your punch biopsy.Hope you get the closure you need and think you made a fantastic choice getting it biopsied anyway. It’s one extra bill but it can’t beat the peace of mind that it’s not melanoma. It’s not a good thing but you learned how dangerous this little nasty guy can be and most people don’t know unless like you they know someone. I have so many friends that this has just blown away because people don’t talk about skin cancer nearly enough.
Anyway, again … Good luck. And let us know the good news.
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- June 26, 2018 at 5:43 pm
With my experience with this thing, take the bull by the horn and dont depend on anyone. Tell them its urgent and need to get this done. Don't wait for them to do the insurance work for you, you can expedite the process by calling the insurance yourself. No one will take the extra mile for you, they have other patients too. I had my nodular diag and surgery done in 3weeks. If i waited for them alone, my outcome would be a whole lot different. You can have your foot on gas pedal and be nice at same time.
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