Cancer Screening

Yesterday I got off work early to have three moles biopsied. I am very adamant about getting your moles checked. My friend had a huge chunk cut out of her leg after they found a mole to be cancerous. They caught it very early, but now she has this huge chunk missing from the back of her leg just under her knee. It was at that time that I decided I needed to get my moles checked regularly.

I used to go to the tanning booths (so bad, don't do it) with her and now I regret that. So I always make a yearly appointment and pray that everything is ok.

When I had my yearly physical with my family doctor, he was concerned with a mole on my stomach. He said it looked odd and he wanted me to have it checked out again even though I had my moles checked in February after having the girls. So I went to my dermatologist a few weeks ago.

We have been watching the one on my back for a few years now and they wanted to "shave" it off to have it looked at. It hasn't changed that much, but enough in color. Then there is a raised one on my stomach that is new within the last year and they wanted to "shave" that one off too. And then the big one that is also on my stomach just under my bra line that they cut out. This one has grown by 2 mm in 6 months. It has also changed color (to a dark brown/black). I have internal and external stitches on this one now, and we await the results of all three of them.

Praying and hoping that they are benign and just changed that much from pregnancy. That can happen, but better to be safe than sorry.

So here is your PSA: get your moles checked out. Yearly. And more often if you notice that they have changed. You should check your own moles every three months. These are the things to look out for.

ABCDEs via American Academy of Dermatology

• Asymmetry: One half of the mole does not match the other half
• Border: The border or edges of the mole are ragged, blurred, or irregular
• Color: The mole has different colors or it has shades of tan, brown, black, blue, white, or red
• Diameter: The diameter of the mole is larger than the eraser of a pencil
• Evolving: The mole appears different from others and/or changing in size, color, shape

So please get yourself checked out.

And hopefully I get good news by Monday.