Suspicious mole, should I get it checked?

[Sogui]

This may sound ridiculous, but I am a 19 year old white male who doesn't spend much time outdoors (I'm only outside when I'm going between classes, I exercise at my gym and play ultimate Frisbee at night).

I have this mole on my neck that has been there for ages, possibly since I was born. Perhaps all these high-profile cancer cases lately have gotten me worried, but after I stepped out of the shower yesterday I noticed that mole on my neck.

Like I said, it could be paranoia, but this mole is slightly raised above the skin  and it seems more noticeable now. I had a strep test today and decided to go ahead and ask the Physician's assistant about it, she measured it and said it was 5mm and that I should monitor it for a month before having it checked out, and that there was nothing to really worry about.

I usually don't worry about my health, but there is even a tiny chance that I might be at risk for something as severe as melanoma, I constantly worry about it.

There is a dermatologist just a few blocks down the street and I'm wondering if I should just get it checked out for peace of mind, I would assume that since it is a decent size (.5mm) and raised above the skin (the only mole on my body that is raised) that the dermatologist would remove it as a precaution. What is the cost usually associated with such a procedure?

Some other important tidbits:
- No skin cancer in my close family, though might have one case in extended.
- I'm 19 with no real health problems, only a handful of sunburns in my history.
- Relatively little sun exposure
- This mole is .5mm and the only raised on my body, located on my neck.
- The only thing suspicious about it is that it's raised (very slightly) and is .5mm, otherwise its fairly symmetrical in shape and consistent in color.

I've included a picture: [URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1460/195627gu5.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

So should I see a dermatologist about it? Remove it for peace of mind?

[Sogui]

Sorry, I mean 5mm... the mole itself is visible in my post.

[Enoch Choi]

You mention the size is 5mm initially, then three times you say 0.5mm

It makes a big difference which it is.  I suspect you mean 5mm since it's pretty hard to see anything 0.5mm

5mm is still smaller than the size we start to worry, 6 mm

If there is any irregularity to the border, the color (especially if there's blue), if there's ulceration (skin opening), if it's raised over the level of your flat skin, it's worth getting checked out.

Melanoma (skin cancer) caught when it's thin and early in development, is curable with local excision (cutting it out).

Enoch Choi, MD

[ea_poe]

From experience, I would. I had the same thing. I had a mole on my arm for as long as I can remember. At age 31, my dentist of all people told me I should get it checked out since it looked a little dark. I went in, even the doctor said it was probably nothing, but we took a sample anyway. Well, sure enough, it tested positive, and a week later I'm getting a skin graft to get it removed. The thing about skin cancer is, if you catch it early, before it goes into your blood, your chances are very high you'll be fine. But, once it's in the blood there's a lot of reasons to be concerned.

Get it checked. At the least you find out it's fine and you stop worrying. Good luck.

Poe

[Sogui]

uh-oh no hyperlinks, copy and paste the URL to see the linked image of the mole