Skin Cancer Forum - had one melanoma removed, dr wants to remove another mole

Hello,

Here is my story.......

I am a very fair skinned person and have never took a tan, always burned when i went out in the sun, i never really liked warm weather or sitting out in the sun anyway.

But a couple of years ago, i tried a sunbed and i actually got a tan using it, so i started using the sunbed regularly maybe 1-2 times a week to get a bit of colour on me. These beds were quite high powered and i always burned before i got a tan.

About a year ago i noticed a strange shaped mole on the back of my left shoulder, i could only see it when i looked in the mirror. It didn't itch or bleed and was smooth on my skin, it actually looked like a mole that had started to break up with a little dark bit in the center.

I got a doctors appointment and he refered me to a pimented lesion clinic, they took a photo of the mole and i came back a month later, i was told that it had changed shape and that i should have it removed. A few weeks later i got a skin biopsy and the mole was removed.

A few weeks later i got a letter saying that the lesion removed proved to be a melanoma, the good news was that it was a very thin lesion and should not cause me problems in the future. But in these situations, the standard practice was to re-excise the scar to get a slightly wider margin around the lesion, i had this done and have had regular checkups every 3 months until now.

Every time i get a checkup, they check my moles and feel my glands in my neck armpits and groin, 3 months ago i got a checkup and all my moles were fine, i had another checkup a few days ago and the doctor says she would like to remove another mole as it may have changed, its on my back and can't tell what it was like before.

When i get this mole removed and it proves to be a melanoma, what would happen then?

Would they remove all my moles just to be on the safe side?

I was not really taking this condition seriously until i was told i would need to have this other mole removed, now i am feeling a bit worried.

I am getting a bit paranoid, if i notice a lump or bump on my body now or i feel unwell i am thinking it has somethiing to do with skin cancer.

This may have nothing to do with me using a sunbed, it could have been me running about without a top in the hot sunshine when i was very young but i wish i hadn't used one now.

Thanks for reading.