the Cost of Dermatology

I had this spot on my upper arm that just appeared one day. It was light brown and shaped weird. I also felt that it felt different than the rest of the skin on my arm. Per my partner's suggestion, I scheduled an appointment with a local dermatologist (I did not have access to my family doctor at the time and did not want to wait for a month). I went to the dermatologist, told her what the issue was, and she looked at it. She smiled as soon as she saw the spot but did not say anything. She then looked closely at it, touched it, and felt around on my arm in that area. She looked up and announced it was a sun spot or age spot and nothing to worry about. She asked if I spend a lot of time in the sun as a kid and I told her yes. She told me to keep an eye on it, but that she did not think it was necessary to do anything at this time. If it made any changes, then we would go from there.

The dermatologist was very nice and very young. She obviously knew what she was talking about too, as the spot is still there and has not changed at all. (My partner thinks maybe it had been there for a while and I had not noticed it.) She did give me a thorough exam, but I could tell she made up her mind as soon as she saw it. I felt rather silly after the fact, but I am still glad I went and found peace of mind.

If you find anything on your skin and it scares or worries you, its worth the money to have a doctor look at it to be safe. I was lucky, but I could have just as easily been told it was cancer. Skin cancer is not something to ignore, so just be smart. Your life is worth it. And do not wait, if you can not see your normal doctor. Skin cancer can move fast and be bigger than what you can see.