Atypical Mole and Melanoma

[DC1977]

Okay, so here’s why I’m scared.

Went to the dermatologist for the first time because I was concerned about a nail stripe I had (turned out to be nothing). I had him check out a mole I’d noticed on my right middle toe (on the side).

He gets this concerned look on his face and says “yeah, we should probably get that off you”. When I emotionally recovered from that reaction I asked what it could be, and here’s what he said:

“Well that’s not melanoma, RIGHT NOW.”
“Right now, that’s an atypical nevus.”

What’s concerning, no scaring the hell out of me is that to my knowledge, you can’t just TELL the difference between an atypical mole and melanoma just by looking at it. And the fact he called it atypical means it shares visual characteristics with melanoma, which to me means IT LOOKS LIKE MELANOMA. I don’t know if his use of the term “right now” was a definite or if he just wanted to ease my mind but with a disclaimer.

He did go on to say that it was “unlikely” to be anything serious and that I shouldn’t worry (again, right now) but that we should remove it anyway because it’s on a toe and I’m less likely to keep an eye on it.

Now I’m a professed hypochondriac, a condition I am actively seeking counseling for, but I’m in that dangerous state of mind where I’m second-guessing a medical professional.

Here’s the main reasons for my concerns-

-You can’t confirm what an atypical nevus really is until you do an excision and biopsy, which I am scheduled for Monday.
-As far as the ABCDE criteria that seems to be popular:
-It’s not a perfect circle, but ovular. I CAN divide it in half and produce two identical sides. I don’t know if symmetrical means you have to be evenly divide it no matter which way you look at it.
- It’s on the side of my toe, a place I don’t typically look, so I have no idea if it’s new, old but changed, or if it’s been there all my life.
-The color seems to be uniform throughout most of it -very dark brown but lighter towards the edges. It could be black near the center, but that seems to depend on what light I’m in.
-To my eyes the borders seem fairly normal.
-It is smaller than 6mm (maybe 4-5mm) but I hear that doesn’t matter over much.
-Its texture is the same as the skin around it.

The doc wanted to have it removed as soon as possible. I don’t know if that’s because there’s a cause for alarm, or because he didn’t think I’d keep an eye on it being as it’s in a usual place.

I’m not particularly at risk for melanoma, as other than a sunburn I remember having once as a kid, I don’t fit the other factors. I don’t spend much time outdoors in the sun, I’m not fair skinned (I am Asian so I have dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair), no family history of skin cancer. Other cancers, yes, but the dermatologist said it shouldn’t matter in this case. I also only seem to have the one atypical mole, a fact that seems to be in debate as being either bad or good.

All my personal knowledge of melanoma comes from the internet which I am told is not always accurate. Ironic, as I’m asking online, yes?

Is there anything that can ease my worry in the meantime? I’m not eating or sleeping well, and I’m absolutely consumed by this.

[sarah202]

Hi!
I know it can be scary, but you won't know anything until you get it removed and have a biopsy. I have had three moles removed (all on my back) because the were "atypical", I found out I have precancerous cells, so I have to be really careful. I have never had this problem, and I have always tanned (never burned).
I too am a hypochondriac so I know how you feel. Before my moles were removed they were blackish/dark brown in the center, they were not oval though, they were oddly shaped.
Just try to relax. Remember that there is a chance everything could come back normal. Just because it is atypical doesn't mean you have melanoma.
I hope this helps.

[3472]

So DC1977, what happened with the biopsy?