My mother is a melanoma survivor - her cancer was about 10 years ago.  I am a breast cancer survivor (my mastectomy was in 3/2004).  I always have been and always will be paranoid when it comes to cancer!!!  We were at the beach on Wednesday when I noticed a black mole behind my 14 year old daugther's ear.  If we hadn't been there applying sunscreen, I never would have even seen it.  At first, I thought it was a small tick.  When we got back to our room, I put on my reading glasses and examined it closely - it was definitely a small, round, BLACK mole.  Immediately my heart sank!!!  I called my mother to ask her to call the doctor Thursday (yesterday) to see if she could get us an appointment.  She was able to get her an appointment for this morning (Friday)so we packed up and came home!!!  This morning, the doctor just looked at it and said we wouldn't know without a biopsy - I wanted to hear that it wasn't MELANOMA!!! She said that the fact that it was so small made it very difficult for her to speculate.  It was about 2mm in diameter.  She did a shave biopsy and said we wouldn't hear anything until Mon. or Tues.  I looked at it in the specimen cup and it was just so small!  But the demenor of the doctor alarmed me!!  In the meantime, I am a wreck!!!!!!  If it is melanoma, how curable do you think it would be since it is small?  How long does it take melanoma to grow into the lower layers of the skin, thus spreading to other areas of the body?  I just can't believe that I have never seen it before.  Even though it was behind the ear, my daughter wears her hair pulled back a lot.  And I have always been mole concious.  We are fair skinned and we have our mole checks EVERY year!  I can't quit worrying - but I am trying not to alarm her.  She starts high school next Friday, and she is very nervous just about that alone.  What should I expect if it is melanoma?  Is the area behind you ear a place where melanoma is prevalent in teenagers.  Any info. you have will be greatly appreciated!!!