A Few Questions …

First, some of my history:

I am a 36 year old male and I have been in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma for over 4 years. Right after I finished treatment (chemo) I became very vigilant for any type of cancer. I photographed my back because I have over 50 moles just on my back alone. I saw my primary doctor. She noted a few moles that were at the max for “normal” size. She then had me come back a few months later to look for any changes. She said all looked good. This was 4 years ago.

This week I decided to look at the picture of my back from 4 years ago and compare it to now. There are some new small spots (less than 1mm) and there are some previously small spots that seem to be larger now (maybe 3 or 4mm). With my history I saw my doctor the next day. She took some pictures and agreed some spots do look larger than before. She referred me to a dermatologist. My appointment is 3 weeks away. I’ve searched the internet (I know, bad idea) and I can’t really find any info that says moles can grow for normal reasons. The moles are mostly symmetrical with normal borders. The only real difference is that they are bigger. I’m in what I call the “wait and worry” stage until my appointment arrives. I have had mild headaches for the past 2 weeks, but they seem to originate from my temples so I think I may be clenching my jaw unknowingly. I’ve also started having itches, pain, etc., but I’ve been down this road before with my lymphoma. I know how the mind can make up all kinds of things once we start worrying. I will add that in the last few weeks I have had multiple blood tests and a CT scan as part of my lymphoma follow up and all is normal. This has given me some reassurance that IF it is melanoma, it is most likely early.

I am the kind of person that loves to learn as much as I can about cancer. Any info, advice, stories from users here would be awesome. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope everyone on here is in the best place they can be on their journey.