If you’ve noticed
that a mole has been fading, melanoma may come to mind, since we are warned
that a “changing mole” can mean cancer.
This article is
based upon my fading mole and what the dermatologist and biopsy report said. I
had been examining my skin once a month for quite some time, and this included
my back, which required a handheld mirror with the bathroom mirror as I sat on
the sink. It was an awkward position.
I was routinely
aware of a 3 mm (my visual estimation) mole, medium-dark brown, on my back.
Close-up views of my back were impossible, but I was very familiar with the
personality of every spot.
One day I was looking at the hair behind my neck—this wasn’t a
skin exam—but my peripheral vision noticed that the 3 mm mole had notably faded
since last time I viewed it (25 days prior). It was so much lighter. I thought,
“What the f---!” Melanoma came to mind.
Not only was the mole faded, but the configuration of coloring was
altered. Oddly, the shape and size were the same. Within minutes of this
discovery, I was on the phone making a dermatologist appointment.
Then I went mad on the Internet and discovered only ONE cause of a
fading mole—and it did NOT apply to me! Often in adolescents and teens, a mole
(nevus) will start fading. This is called halo nevus.
Eventually the spot
disappears. Halo nevus is benign, but while the mole fades, a whitish halo
develops around it, and remains for a while after the nevus disappears.
I had no halo! In my mind, that left only one
explanation: melanoma. Eight days later the dermatologist’s first words, upon
examining it, were: “It doesn’t look worrisome.”
I asked what could make it change so fast. She replied, “I don’t
think it’s a mole. It looks like a seborrheic keratosis.”
To play safe I had her remove the entire lesion. The biopsy report
came in three days later: It was a seborrheic keratosis. An SK is a benign skin
barnacle that can never turn into melanoma.
The take-home message is this: If you discover a mole that’s
fading or changing, it may actually be a seborrheic keratosis. An SK that cannot
be seen close up (such as one on the back or back of the neck) can easily pass
as a typical nevus. Don’t guess and wonder; see a dermatologist.
Sources:
mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/DS00439
emedicine.medscape.com/article/1057446-overview
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