Kaposi's Sarcoma

[paranoidboy1234]

hi.. I would like to ask if what i'm experiencing right now could be kaposi's sarcoma.  i have a "mole" (http://s1173.photobucket.com/albums/r594/pboy1234/?action=view&current=822c2f7d.jpg ) which has shrunk in size because i scratched it before and then it became a scab and then it healed. but i grew another one just like the one in the picture with the same size in which i scratched it again and then it healed and became a scab and now looks like a scar. what makes me paranoid is that last 10 months ago i had a potential exposure to HIV which was on March 2,2012. in which i tested negative on the 3rd and 5th month post exposure, now just last november i developed a cough (which is NOT hemoptysis, i DON'T have difficulty or shortness of breathing, i am NOT losing weight, NO night sweats etc. JUST a cough) a cough that feels like my throat itches or something. but what bothers me is that it has been 2 months and it hasn't gone away and has clear mucus or white sputum. and then when i think of the spots on my skin and i look at the pictures on google it makes me nervous about kaposi's sarcoma. please help...

[paranoidboy1234]

Hi doc! is it associated with many symptoms or just one?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Chances of kaposi sarcoma are less and it can just be picked scabs. Involvement of the airway in aposi sarcoma can present with shortness of breath, fever, cough, hemoptysis (coughing up blood), or chest pain, or as an incidental finding on x-ray. You can get a physical examination done from a physician and if needed a chest x-ray done. More likely this cough can be due to bronchitis.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.