Spots, Moles, Freckles and… Melanoma
Oct 24
I have freckles. I thought everyone had freckles. I have always been rather fond of my spots. I remember watching them develop as a child – particularly over summers. I would always end up with a new little cluster on my arms, across my nose, or even on my legs. I even tried to pick out patterns in them – like I swear I have the Southern Cross on my left thigh!
I was an avid participant in sports throughout my childhood. I don’t really remember any attention being paid to sun safety. We never wore hats, or applied sunscreen. Sunstroke was much more of a concern, and we were always reminded to drink plenty of fluids and stay hydrated. It wasn’t until high school that the “No hat, no play” policy was introduced, but it really wasn’t enforced, and a tan was the sign of a healthy body – it meant you were a swimmer, or an athlete, or a netballer. Tan lines were the norm. We even used to get sock tans after netball carnivals – now that was an attractive look!
When Maddy was born, one of the first things I saw was a little spot on her leg. It was the most beautiful spot I had ever seen. While my husband’s genes won the battle of the eye colour, I had passed on a little spot to my baby. And it was in the same place as one of mine. I loved that little spot. I used to tell her that her spot was the exact place where I touched her for the first time, and marked the moment of when I promised to love her forever.
Now I am getting older, and infinitely wiser. I know that tan lines aren’t healthy, spots aren’t always wonderful, and the sun can be deadly. I am very sun conscious with my children now. We always SLIP SLOP SLAP but even so, I see new little freckles appear on them all the time. As a mother, I feel very protective of their beautiful and unblemished skin. Maddy had a mole on the sole of her foot removed on the day before Katie was born, as it had irregular edges and was in a rather uncommon place, so the specialist recommended removal ASAP – the timing was awful but we weren’t prepared to take any chances. I know that living in Australia puts us into a whole new risk category, but I would prefer that they learn to enjoy the sun responsibly, which means being very aware of the dangers of sun cancer.
A few weeks ago, a spot on my arm caught my eye. I’ve never been one for really “inspecting” my skin, but I am aware of how it looks, and can certainly notice when things don’t look quite right. This particular spot was much darker than any others – it was almost black and the edges weren’t round and smooth. And even though it was teeny tiny – it was just different. When it comes to spots, different is not good.
As we were about to go on holidays to the beach for a couple of weeks, I wanted my doctor to have a quick look at it. I fully expected her to tell me that it was fine, and to enjoy my holiday. Instead she said, “Hmm that doesn’t look good. Let’s book you in for an excision – when can you come back in?”.
And so last week, my spot was cut out. It was a very simple procedure under local anaesthetic. It needed just two stitches, and the scar will be less than 1cm long. The most awful part was that I quickly developed an allergic reaction to the sticking plaster!
So I pulled it off and let it air dry instead.
I am waiting now on the results to see whether a further excision will need to made, or whether it was just an irregular colour. I’ll find out today. ***UPDATE: The results show the cells were indeed changing, however they had not turned cancerous, nor will we ever know IF they would have turned cancerous. So I am so happy that I have officially been given the all clear on that spot! ***
But here’s the kicker. When the doctor was examining me, she explained that I have a “condition” called Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome (DNS), which is when a person develops many more moles than the general population.
The condition is defined as:
- Having greater than 50 moles
- At least some of the moles have atypical features, such as irregular borders, colors, etc.
- Having less than 50 moles but at least 5 atypical moles
People with inherited DNS and a family history of melanoma have a very high risk of melanoma, up to 100% by age 80. Sobering statistics. {Source}
So I am now well aware that this is something I will always need to be acutely aware of. Thankfully, health professionals are now well trained in being able to identify, and remove suspicious moles before they turn into anything nasty. I have absolutely no hesitation in removing anything suspicious – I would rather take action and err on the side of caution, then do nothing and suddenly realise that I have left it too late.
When was the last time you had your skin checked by a professional? It takes just 15 minutes. Chances are your skin is perfectly fine and there is nothing to worry about, but considering the alternative, why take any chance at all? So go on, make the appointment – today!
Gee I hope your lesion is benign.
Thanks Gary – all clear! Woo hoo!
Fantastic. I remember using copha and smearing it over me. I was as black as as a kid. Now I have spots all over me. As much as I dislike Canberra weather, I hardly see the sun here.
Yearly Dermatologist appointment last week, all clear – hey!! Having had a cancer cut off my ear & my eye lid (ouch!!) I am very wary of the sun & check ups.
Great post, I hope everyone heeds your advice & has regular check ups
Oh the ears!! I see little ears sticking out of caps all the time and think how much sun they must get! I am very glad that you have a regular routine for check ups – very wise
I have lots of freckles and moles too, had my first one removed when I was about 12, and regular check ups since then. My husband has lovely skin, which tans beautifully and few freckles or moles.
But earlier this year, we noticed a purplish ‘dint’ growing above his eye. Upon inspection at our regular checkup, the skin specialist took a biopsy and reported back a week later it was a BCC (Basal Cell Carcinoma), and removed it immediately. My husband had a big chunk taken out above his eye and the report received back indicated that the cancer had penetrated into nerve endings and he would need radiation to ensure it hadn’t spread! What a stressful time
Thankfully, once referred to the hospital the oncologist didn’t want to do radiation since my hubby is so young and the risks of a secondary cancer from the radiation are too high. After seeking a second opinion from a plastic surgeon, it was confirmed that the penetration into the nerve endings was minimal and with regular monitoring, no radiation was needed.
This was such a big wake-up call to us. Even though we have always been sun-smart, I now carry a hat with me everywhere and wear sun-shirts even at home in the garden.
Don’t think that sun spots need to look like a freckle! This was a purple splotch that looked like an old scar! Get ANY abnormal mark on your skin checked.
Good luck with your results Nat!
xxx
My mother in law just had a mole cut out 2 weeks ago and yes – it ended up being a stage 2 melanoma. So now she has to get a larger margin cut out, a skin graft and more tests to see if it has travelled to her lymph nodes. It’s a pretty scary wait for her now (I really hope she’s all clear).
Oh my goodness – that is a worry! I hope she gets the all clear now Kristy.
Wow Cassi – that is scary! Thank you for the reminder – there really are so many things we should be on the lookout for. I am so glad that your husband came through it all ok – most definitely a wake up call for sure!
Thanks for the reminder that I need to book myself in for a skin check – I got a reminder in the mail last week but I had forgotten about it.
A has had so many cut out – it is quite worrying so he is in there every 6 months for his check up.
My Dad has been diagnosed with cancer twice and has made a full recovery twice – all picked up through an irregular spot on his forehead.
I am not quite as careful in the sun as I should be – I still think that brown fat looks so much better than white fat. Plus the plastic surgeon told me that the damage was done by the time I was 20 – back in the ‘good old days’ of tanning with baby oil and not using any blockout / hats EVER !
I hope you get the results back soon and that it is all good for you.
Lotsa hugs
Me
Oh I totally hear you on the brown fat thing lol! Hopefully our children will see the beauty in untanned skin when they are teens!
Thanks for sharing that Nat. You’ve reminded me I am overdue for my yearly check-up with the Dermatologist. As you know, I am fair too & have freckles. I have had 2 basal cell carcinomas treated on my shoulders. I always been very conscious of protecting my face from the sun but I am very guilty of wearing singlet tops around for most of the summer & not protecting my shoulders. I am now very conscious of this!!
It’s hard when it’s so hot isn’t it. I have started wearing more sun shirts and have even asked for a long sleeve rashie for my birthday – oh how times have changed!
Thankyou for the reminder Nat, I do need my skin checked again as it’s been a while (a long while) and I have irregular moles on my back that should be checked more often (they’ve been fine in the past), plus my mum has had melanoma spots removed from her arms. I worry about my back in particular as I was badly sunburned a few times as a teenager.
Hope your results come back all OK.
I think we’ve all had that horrible burn until it peels feeling as teens – what were we thinking??? Make that appointment Kylie!
Glad you were in the all clear! Its always best to get them removed just in case!
When I was about 4 I had a group/cluster of moles about size of 50c grow on my upper thigh. I was so embarrassed of it at school so always wore bandaids over them or zinc when at swimming events etc. When I was 13 my mum got the main moles in the middle cut out by a crappy medical centre doctor then I had this ugly puffy scar which was equally embarrassing for me. Anyway when I was 26 I noticed that some moles were growing up through the scar tissue so I thought that was weird I’ll keep an eye on that. I could see changes quite rapidly so I went to the doc and I had stage 1 melanoma which is lucky as its just before it starts to grow down into your skin layers. I went to the melanoma clinic in Sydney and that doctor who is on tv cut my moles out Now I have about a 10cm scar on my leg but a neat one and its way better than having melanoma! It makes me so mad when people fry their skin! I need to go for another check up and when I do will prob blog about all of the above too cause people need to be so cautious and realise it can happen to them!
Gosh Neen – it really is just so common and it is so scary! Good on you for being on the ball and acting on the changes straight away. It just makes you think doesn’t it. Hopefully our children will be the first truly sun-smart generation with a deeper understanding of just how harmful the sun’s rays can be. Thank you for sharing your story.