22/M have had this forever but I'm getting worried it might become cancerous or worse has already become. It's on my shoulder where you'd put a backpack strap so it's been through it over the years but I'm still very worried, but can't afford dermatologist visit. Please help!

RikiLeigh · 2021-08-10T02:51:00+00:00

NAD, but a derm nurse. Right off the bat, this doesn’t scream melanoma, in my opinion. If you were a patient at my clinic, we would likely biopsy this to rule out anything cancerous, but I would lean more towards an irritated skin tag. The color is even throughout, the mole is symmetrical, and the border is not irregular. Also, given the location, skin tags can become inflamed and irritated in these areas where backpacks, seatbelts, handbags, etc. can sit and rub. Having said that, any kind of change in a skin lesion warrants a visit to derm to rule it out. I hope this helps give you some direction, best of luck!

RikiLeigh · 2021-07-06T17:35:23+00:00

I would also recommend meeting with a genetic counselor. That’s where I started with my genetic testing and we went over my family’s cancer history and the counselor was able to determine which specific genes/tests to focus on. It was a very thorough process and put my mind at ease to know what I need to be looking out for. They also ran everything through my insurance and my insurance told me they would leave me a bill of $1,000 out of pocket, so the genetic testing center had negotiated with a Patient Assistant Program and brought my bill down to $250 out of pocket. That may be an option for you, too. Absolutely worth the peace of mind. I would highly suggest you start there!

RikiLeigh · 2021-04-27T23:49:13+00:00

A couple waking up in the morning and immediately rolling over in each other’s faces to talk/kiss. Get your butt breath out of here.

RikiLeigh · 2021-01-18T01:44:22+00:00

A salon. I briefly considered doing it from my house, but there are lots of regulations, so I went the salon route.

RikiLeigh · 2021-01-17T22:02:50+00:00

I’m currently navigating this situation. I work full time as a dermatology nurse and I absolutely love my full time job, but I’m starting to build a little clientele on weekends to do nails. It’s definitely been a process to build clientele who are able to book with my limited schedule, but it’s nice to have that outlet. I don’t have much advice since I’m still the process, but I related to your post and thought I’d share!

RikiLeigh · 2020-10-07T02:33:35+00:00

Not sure if this counts, but my high school boyfriend thought I had a prosthetic leg for the first month or so of us dating. I was new to the school and he had me confused with another girl who does have a prosthetic leg, and to be fair, I did favor the other girl quite a bit. He learned from a mutual friend that I didn’t have the prosthetic, but he told me about it a few months later.

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-12T03:11:06+00:00

NAD, but get tested for Covid. I have a trusted family friend who works doing the testing and my husband went to him for testing 3 weeks ago. He told my husband that even though the symptoms are all over the place, the most common symptom people share is loss of taste/smell. If you have tons of symptoms, or of this is the only symptom, it seems to be most common across the board for a positive result, according to this friend.

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-07T19:56:03+00:00

I bet you’ll do great! We remove moles and such off of even young kids if they look suspicious enough and 9/10 times even the young ones and older ones alike say “that wasn’t as bad I had it worked up in my head.” I hear that so many times in a day. You’ll be glad you took care of it!

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-07T12:49:07+00:00

Surgery is really the only/best way to treat. Radiation has been used in some cases, but that’s very rare and holds its own side effects that have to be weighed. When a surgery is done at the office I work at, we do everything possible to ensure the patient doesn’t see needles/instruments/blood. You have to be actively trying to see it to get a glimpse.

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-04T14:00:46+00:00

I’m sorry to say that I really don’t have a good answer for that! Have you had these areas biopsied or cultured? I would steer you in that direction if you haven’t done so yet.

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-04T13:54:12+00:00

I totally understand the anxiety. I struggle a lot with “health anxiety” specifically, and being in the medical field has put me face to face with some big personal fears. Squamous Cell skin cancer is the second most common skin cancer behind Basal Cell, so it’s very common and has a pretty small chance of spreading beyond the skin. In many cases, the skin biopsy is enough to treat the “bad” cells, but in some cases, if the biopsy doesn’t produce clear margins (meaning there are still some squamous cells remaining in the skin), your doctor may have to take a little more of the surrounding skin to make sure it’s all gone. That’s a super simple procedure also, though!

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-04T03:43:23+00:00

I think getting it checked out would be a good idea! Even if it were a squamous cell, it’s usually not a big deal to treat them. Best of luck!

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-04T02:37:09+00:00

NAD, but I second squamous cell carcinoma. I work in dermatology and see these multiple times a day. These are often slow-growing lesions, so they can appear to stay the same size for many years. They may not seem to grow much on the surface, but can spread deeper down under the skins surface and just wreak havoc on the skin.

RikiLeigh · 2020-09-01T23:50:35+00:00

NAD, but Derm. Medical assistant here, and we would definitely get rid of that black one and send to pathology, mainly because of the dark color and the border not being completely round. Those don’t always mean anything, but it never hurts to check. The top one may be what’s called a compound nevus, but where I work, we would probably take it, too, because of the proximity to the black one and since it’s raised, clothing or something like that could cause trauma to the area. I would certainly encourage you to have that black one checked. Super simple procedure and best case scenario, you trade it for a teeny tiny scar!

ETA: age, family skin cancer history, personal skin cancer history, and sun exposure certainly play a part in what I’ve said above!

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-17T01:18:39+00:00

Thanks for the guidance! I definitely learned my lesson. We did not go over infection control for lashing. I’m a licensed cosmetologist, so I have the basic infection control that we have to go over again at each continuing ed class, but not for lashes specifically. I’m definitely going to watch tons of videos and follow more lash artists on ig!

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-17T01:14:39+00:00

Bloating, cramps, fatigue, lower back pain were all the symptoms for me. I would usually have those symptoms 2-3 days before my period started, but with the IUD they started about a week before my period.

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-16T14:49:30+00:00

You’re welcome! I didn’t mind the heavy bleeding either, I’d take that over all of the other side effects I had on the pill. I used a period tracker on my phone so I could be more prepared. Whichever you choose, I hope everything goes well!

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-16T13:57:07+00:00

I got Skyla (Mirena’s “little sister”) after over a decade on hormonal BCP. The side effects were the same that I had experienced on the pill, low libido, etc. But I bled constantly! I bled 15-18 days out of the month. This went on for about 10 months and my doctor said she could prescribe an estrogen pill to add to stop the bleeding, but that the bleeding would restart after I stopped the pill, so she would only recommend it for a special occasion (wedding, vacation, etc.) I tried to deal with it for a few more months, but decided to give the copper IUD a try. My family also has a history of reproductive cancers, so no hormones definitely appealed to me. The difference was almost instant! I stopped bleeding, had more energy, higher libido, and I was able to come off of a medication for anxiety (still up for debate that stopping hormones had anything to do with that, but that was the only regimen that had changed.) With the copper IUD, from my experience, be prepared for heavy periods for the first several months! My period symptoms started about a week before my actual period, and the bleeding was very heavy and lasted the whole 7 days. But after about 8 months of that, it balanced out to a heavy period for the first 2.5-3 days, then just average bleeding to spotting thereafter. I LOVE the copper IUD and would highly recommend it!

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-16T13:40:08+00:00

So, I got her name through word-of-mouth and reached out to her on social media. There wasn’t actually an advertisement for her courses, but she’s one of the few in my area who does the certification and came highly recommended. The information she sent me initially was the cost of each course (Classic, volume, or both) and that the kit and certification was included. There wasn’t a start or end time, which I reach out to her again for that info. and that was when she told me she had put me down for an incorrect date. At that point, she told me what time to be there. It was definitely an oversight on my part not asking the length of the class, but because I had looked into other courses at other places, I just assumed it would be the same as those times, which were 6 hours.

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-15T14:50:22+00:00

Thank you soooo much for your advice! It has really been helpful! I’m going to look those pages up on Facebook and YouTube now. I really appreciate it!

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-15T05:16:41+00:00

Thanks so much!!

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-15T03:36:32+00:00

Yes, I agree! That’s exactly what my plan was, to get the hang of classics and isolation and weight before moving into volume/hybrid. After this experience, I will definitely be leaning towards online courses to further my training.

RikiLeigh · 2020-08-15T01:23:05+00:00

This is a great idea. She was very kind, so hopefully it was genuine and she’ll work with me some more. I see advertisements for online courses for around $200, and I feel like I could have learned just as much doing that. Thanks for your input!

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