My grandson Grayson is four. Since he was a little baby he has had this mole on the side of this head. As he got older the mole grew and started to change. My daughter watched it very carefully as you must do with moles. We decided that the mole was beginning to really look atypical and took him to the doctor. The first dermatologist we saw barely pushed his hair back away from his mole, took a brief look and said it was fine. This was in Arkansas. I will not give the name of the town for obvious reasons, although I really should. So knowing that he was crazy, we made an appointment with a dermatologist in Louisiana. The NURSE knew when she looked at it that the doctor would take it off. Indeed he did. They took a razor-like instrument and shaved the mole off of my sweetie’s head. Grayson was so good. He never moved or cried. He sat so still. The doctor said it should be fine and not grow back. We waited about a week for the lab results. When the doctor’s office called they said that the mole was categorized as mild-atypical. Nothing to worry about. But it began to grow back. We took him back to the same doctor and this time he froze the mole. He said his head should start to look like the color of his skin again and he was going to be fine.
Well, the area stayed scaly and the mole began to show signs of re-appearing. So, we took him to another dermatologist and she decided to get the lab slides from the extraction of the mole and send them to her own lab. She did. She called a few weeks later and said the results came back mild to moderate atypical and she wanted him to see a plastic surgeon. This is where we are. He has to have the mole removed through surgery to get all of it. This means the surgeon has to put him to sleep and cut down deep enough to remove anything there so that it absolutely can not grow back. He is FOUR. The reason I am writing this is to warn you of the dangers of the sun. In Grayson’s case it had nothing to do with the sun. But in most cases it does. The sun can cause skin cancer. PLEASE, PLEASE take time to look at your children carefully for moles that they have had or new ones that may come up. Here are the signs to look for: Information taken from the Mayo Clinic..
Unusual moles that may indicate melanoma
Characteristics of unusual moles that may indicate melanomas or other skin cancers follow the A-B-C-D-E guide developed by the American Academy of Dermatology:
A is for asymmetrical shape. Look for moles with irregular shapes, such as two very different-looking halves.
B is for irregular border. Look for moles with irregular, notched or scalloped borders — characteristics of melanomas.
C is for changes in color. Look for growths that have many colors or an uneven distribution of color.
D is for diameter. Look for new growth in a mole larger than about 1/4 inch (6 millimeters).
E is for evolving. Look for changes over time, such as a mole that grows in size or that changes color or shape. Moles may also evolve to develop new signs and symptoms, such as new itchiness or bleeding.
Other suspicious changes in a mole may include:
Scaliness
Itching
Spreading of pigment from the mole into the surrounding skin
Oozing or bleeding
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/ds00439/dsection=symptoms
Please check this website out for more information about moles and skin cancer. And PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR CHILDREN FOR ANY CHANGES IN MOLES. LOOK THEM OVER GOOD ON A REGULAR BASIS.
I will keep you posted on the outcome of his surgery. BTW he has another mole on the top of his head and over his eyebrow that are growing the same way………….
This is Grayson at the doctor's office waiting to get his mole checked again by the third doctor.
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