Request for feedback and advice
Hi everyone. I have never been on a cancer forum but I can only assume that many/most of you are dealing with or have dealt with things nobody should ever have to endure and I am so sorry for that.
I wanted a place to post a few photos and just ask for honest feedback. I DID google, before anyone tells me to "JFGI". But there were so many contradictory things, I felt less informed AFTER reading several prominent health/hospital websites like web md and mayo clinic.
A brief explanation of why I would like some feedback on these photos I took of my face- recently I noticed several new moles pop up on my face. I noticed the first one in March, and now by mid June there are 20 or so new moles or scaly spots, all with very dark blood vessels and sometimes redness around the scaly patches. The moles are between 2 and 10 mm in diameter. They feel almost numb to me. The odd scaly patches bleed easily but the moles do not.
I have extremely fair skin, always prone to burning easily. I stay out of the sun in general but from January to May I was walking to work and there was no way to completely avoid the sun.
Yesterday while at the grocery store, a woman in line said "oh, honey. I've been a surgical nurse for a dermatological practice over 8 years, and I'm telling you, you need to go get checked out. That looks like basil carcinoma if I've ever seen it."
The thing is, I don't have insurance at all. I hope to by the end of the year. I do not qualify for Medicare because I'm under (waaaay under) 62 and don't qualify for Medicaid because I don't have children. It seems like the state of Texas has made sure there is no way for a single, young-ish, employed person to get any help.
So basically, it will be a long time before I can see a doctor. I was hoping people here with their real life experiences could tell me what they thought- DOES it look like some type of skin cancer or am I just the unlucky recipient of a couple dozen premature age spots?
I get that nobody is a doctor (or at least most of you probably aren't, pardoning some statistical abnormality) and I will take any opinions and advice offered with a grain of salt.
Thanks so much for your time, and please don't judge me for not tweezing before taking these photos. Also- many of the moles are flesh colored and have blood vessels crisscrossing the top. I just couldn't capture them well with my phone camera. They have a raised surface and feel kind of hard. They are definitely numb.
It wouldn't really be any type of cancer, right- because the moles and spots popped up all over my face? From what I read, most skin cancers start with just one area.
note: IF I did this correctly, which is doubtful, you'll see my photo at the top of this post. If I messed it up, this is the site where I put the image:
Comments
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Well, hell.
So I don't see my image OR my link. Trying to post it within this comment.
And here is the link since it doesn't look like this is working in the preview function-
imgur.com/PPqG6ao
and ONE last thing, then I swear I'll shut up-
My body IS known to be a total nussaince re. cystic masses. I currently have a 3rd recurrence of a huge cystic teratoma in my abdomen. Not sure if this relevant but I thought I might mention it in case I'm more likely to have these sudden lesions on my face due to having masses elsewhere in my body. There has never been any malignancy in the pathology of the cystic masses, FYI.
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Hi! I can totally relate to
Hi! I can totally relate to fear of having cancer. The only way to know is to have a dermatologist look at the suspicious spot and have it biopsied if the doctor thinks it might be cancerous.
There are free skin cancer screenings at some hospitals that specialise in cancer, ie Moffit and MD Anderson. I would have it checked by a dermatologist ASAP so you don't have to worry and in case its malignant and could metastasize.
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