Health scare

Hey,

I noticed a scaly spot on my earlobe yesterday and am really worried it might be skin cancer.. It's been there before, I think I noticed it for the first time a few months ago. Back then, I absent-mindedly picked at it and was shocked at how much bleeding there was even though the affected area is really small..

Somehow, I managed to forget about it until it caught on my nail yesterday and again, there was a lot of bleeding. I started to examine it and it's actually really weird, I can't make out if it's a growth on top of the skin or a sore with a scab or what. I'm a hypochondriac anyway (though had been doing a lot better there for the past year..) and skin cancer's always been a real biggie on my list of things to worry about.. I've got all the risk factors, fair skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, lots of freckles, and I suffered multiple sunburns throughout my childhood.

Anyway, my head's telling me it either is or isn't cancer, I won't know until I've seen a doctor. I got an appointment for Wednesday to see a dermatologist, but now I'm wondering if I should try to get an appointment on Monday at the national health care services and just have it removed straight away.. I'll have to see how freaked out I am by then.

I just needed to share how scared I feel cos I find fear so hard to deal with on my own. One moment I'm OK, the next I remember the thing and start freaking out, reading stuff on Google until I'm crying and planning my own funeral..

Worrying about your health can be quite upsetting. I can understand your concern. However, I think that is can probably wait until Wednesday. I would prefer a dermatologist look at something like that over just a regular doctor, but that's just me. I'm sure whatever you decide it will turn out okay, at least I hope so. My dad got a cancer spot on his ear and everything turned out fine. He had is removed and there was no re-occurrence. I had a lesion on my ear and it turned out to be nothing to worry about, so try not to worry too much.

It's great that you got an appointment with a dermatologist so quickly. It can take months in some parts of the US to get a dermatologist appointment.

Ears tend to bleed a lot if they get even the tiniest cut, so that part sounds normal.

There are lots of things that can cause a small spot on your skin. I've had a couple of precancerous spots that the dermatologist removed with liquid nitrogen. It stung but wasn't really very painful.

I'm very fair like you are and had lots of sun exposure during my childhood. I was going to ignore the first spot I got, except it was on the END OF MY NOSE so I went to get it checked out because it was impossible to ignore.

It might be Basil Cell Skin Cancer. This kind of skin cancer will Not invade your body and kill you. Thus relax. It is caused by sun damaged skin cells. You will be OK. As an outdoor Native American, I had a few spots of it myself. The Dermatologist will remove it in his office, and you will be just fine.

Thank you so much for your support! I've decided to keep the appointment with the dermatologist - I agree, trust them more than regular doctors.. Now I'm just trying to stay as calm as possible until Wednesday. Sharing here and being acknowledged has helped a great deal!

Hoping it's 'just' a skin infection.. My scalp is badly affected by seborrheic dermatitis behind that ear, so I'm hoping the spot is part of the same problem, though it doesn't actually look entirely similar.. But, we'll see!

Thanks again!