Melanoma?

Some times it never rains but it pours...
Realising that my current medical certificate was running out I (once again) this week attended my local doctor to get my certificate extended. I had noticed a mole on my neck had changed color, had grown in size and become itchy over the past few months but had put off or forgotten to have it checked. Today I decided to "kill two birds with one stone" and asked the doc to have a quick look. After the doctors examination the possibility of it being a skin cancer or melanoma was real and quite frightening.

My doctor is also a surgeon and decided quote: "If in doubt, cut it out" so I was surprised when he decided to cut out the mole and surrounding tissue for a biopsy straight away. I went into his surgical room, was administered a local anesthetic and 20 minutes later had the offending mole removed, stitched and the wound dressed. I saw the offending mole and was surprised at it's size, about the size of a small marble. Now I must wait for the results of the biopsy to return.

I am sitting at the computer with the anesthetic wearing off and feeling the impact of the surgery now. It pains me to turn my head and I am finding that swallowing food and liquid is an uncomfortable experience. I am reading up on skin cancer and melanoma trying to ascertain if mine looked benign or cancerous. Silly I know but it's the paranoid part of me hoping that this isn't a sign for the worse. It is probably nothing and if it's not I hope it is a more treatable form of skin cancer and not melanoma at all. If it is melanoma I hope it hasn't spread because I left it so long getting it checked.

Ordinarily I would have left the doctors surgery and headed down to the pub for some anesthetic of a different kind. I really am glad that I attended that A.A meeting last night and I am glad that my anti-psychotic medications are at an acceptable level.
I just can't help worrying though...