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A diagnosis of skin cancer or finding a suspicious spot can be frightening. Experts from the Skin Cancer Foundation and members can help you through the maze of diagnosis and treatment.

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Blog - Cancer Realities

Afraid of Penile Cancer
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Riffling posted:
Hey there. I am 21 years old and uncircumcised. Somewhere around 2010, I noticed a dark, flat, discolored splotch on the head of my penis. It immediately worried me, so I went to my doctor. He, at first, didn't believe it was anything but after I continued to worry, he sent me to a local Urologist to get it looked at. The urologist told me it was not malignant but to still keep an eye on it and come again in six months. Six months later, I went back and he said it still looked okay. He told me to come again in another 8 months, but, shortly after, he moved away. I have not been to the doctor since. The spot looks no different than before, but I still worry if it could be something. I also can't tell if it has grown any or not. My local doctor told me that it has grown a bit, but not enough to be considered malignant or dangerous. I guess he's looking for a radical chance. I mean, it's pretty much been two years and nothing has developed or gotten worse. No sores have formed, no pain from the spot or anything else; everything seems pretty good. I am planning on going back to a Urologist soon to get it checked on. However, after two years and no development, is there any chance of this being cancer, still? As well, could it just be hyperpigmentation? When I look at it with a flashlight, it looks like it has the texture of a mole, but the spot is not rough, raised, or scaly. It is the same as the rest of my glans, it is just darker than the surrounding skin. It is about 1 cm in height and 0.5 cm in length. Recently, I was obsessively checking my inguinal lymph nodes and after a few days of rubbing myself sore, I found one. Of course, I freaked out. I went to the doctor and he said that it was a small benign lymph node. He didn't find anymore. I am a complete hypo about these types of things, but this is definitely something that concerns me. Can anyone give me any info on this? I know that this spot is not really consistent of squamous cell carcinoma, but I still am a little bit concerned that it might be something.
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Elizabeth_WebMD_Staff responded:
Hi Riffling -

I am sorry to hear this has you so worried. A dermatologist may be able to give you a little more information and possibly do a biopsy or shave of the area to determine what it is.

Hope you find answers soon and please keep us posted with what you find out.

Elizabeth


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