Nodular Melanoma

[AndrewF 37]

I took my wife to the dermatologist to look at a red bump on her neck that had been there 2.5 weeks.  Her dad had a melanoma removed 12+ years ago (no issues) and so did her aunt on her dad's side.  Plus she has a lot of atypical nevi.  

Anyway, I told the doc I was looking for the very uncommon "nodular melanoma" in addition to the more common (though rare) kind that look like flat moles.

First, what she has is a clogged pore that became a little cyst., and should clear up on its own.

Second, after questioning him, nodular melanoma always grows ("evolves") rapidly enough to notice.  "But doc, they say sometimes it grows deeper and not sideways"......Well, if it grows deeper, it also gets taller....it grows uniformly.  "What's a good observation threshold"  ......"A Month" he said.  Give things a month.

This is helpful because while we want to be observant of our bodies, we don't want to run to a doctor for every pimple we have 2-3 weeks, especially if it isn't growing.

Thought I would share this because it is useful in making calm, appropriate medical decisions!

[bin_tenn 1252]

Thanks for sharing, @AndrewF! When I was all up in my melanoma anxiety a long while back, I couldn't grasp this. I thought any seemingly unusual mole "must be something awful." That's simply not true. For one, people often have "ugly" moles that don't fit the usual "healthy" criteria. But that is THEIR norm. It's subjective. I now understand that CHANGE (especially noticeable / rapid change) is a key factor in identifying a potentially suspicious lesion. Even then, it's not usually sinister, but more likely than a lesion that hasn't changed.

Hopefully this post of yours can reassure others who are fearful of this stuff. Good post.