Am I overreacting?
Today I was in the bathroom and examining myself in the mirror as I do on occasion and noticed a freckle on my mid back that caught me off guard until I realized it had always been there upon looking at some shirtless pictures I took in the mirror years ago that show my back. I did the ABCDE "test" and the only one that checks off so far is C, because the edge of the freckle is a bit darker than the rest. My mother looked at it and said it was nothing but she'd say that if I had an eye hanging out of my socket, and I sent a picture of it to my dad and he said it just looked like a freckle. Should I be worried or am I being a total hypochondriac? (which I have a long history of being). You can see the spot in my display picture, and I know I should see a doctor either way, but can somebody tell me what they think? I swear of it wasn't for that tiny little edge being slightly darker I wouldn't have even thought twice because as I said, it's smaller than a pencil eraser and has been for years.
Hi
, I'm glad you reached out and I'm glad you're keeping an eye on your skin! I completely understand what you mean about your mother saying it's nothing - so frustrating! As you say, the doctor would be the only person qualified to really advise you on what this might be. We aren't medical professionals and therefore can't speculate on it. We have noticed that one of the biggest signs folks in the community mention is change (Evolution). I'd absolutely encourage you have it checked if you're at all concerned. My derm usually shows more concern if the spot is new and/or has changed. Hopefully we'll hear from others here. As some of our community advocates like to say, "when in doubt, check it out!" - Nina, SkinCancer.net Team
It's definitely not new according to the older pictures I have of myself in the mirror showing my back, it's just the coloring that threw me off but now that I've been obsessively checking every freckle on my body, I notice that they're all literally two shades of brown, this one just happens to be the biggest but it's still smaller in diameter than a pencil eraser. I think it threw me off because naturally I can't see my back and the last thing on my mind when examining myself in the mirror on occasion are my freckles (I also have bad eye sight) so when I actually spotted this one I couldn't help but feel startled, but thank goodness for those old pictures otherwise I'd feel even more uneasy. I'm poor and have no health insurance so I don't know what I'll do, but I'm going to have to eventually get it checked out just to be safe. I also forgot to mention that it doesn't itch, feel irritated or tender or anything and I read that's a common symptom.
