Question: Hi, Doctor. I have a red spot on my nose that has been present for about a month. It was not associated with acne in any way. It is not getting better or worse at this point. It is not itchy or scaly. I do have many risk factors for skin cancer (history of severe sunburns as a child and teen, use of tanning beds when young, pale skin/blue eyes/ blonde hair, history of a dyspastic mole, not very good about wearing sunscreen). I have an appt with a dermatologist but have to wait for 5 weeks. I understand that basal, and squamous cell skin cancer can be pink/red and even some melanomas too. So... I'm sending a picture. It's a little more pink/red in person than it shows in the picture. What is your opinion? Do you think this could be skin cancer? If so, do you think it looks like it could possibly be even melanoma ( Amelanotic melanoma). Even if it could be, can you please provide examples of other things that it could be as well? Thank you so very much.

Dr Kakkar, Thank you for your quick reply. Here are the answers to your questions. It is slightly raised (I can feel it when I rub my fingers over it but it doesnt look raised to sight) and does not blanch. Since it does not blanch, so not broken capillary, are there any other non-cancerous things? Also, could you explain what you mean by rolled borders with Basal Cell? Of course any other input is also very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, Dr. Kakkar. It has been quite a while since my reply to your questions. It's not really urgent but I wanted to make sure there wasn't a glitch in the system that prevented you from seeing it. Thank you!

Thank you, Doctor. I will try to take better pictures tomorrow as you requested. It is very interesting, however, that you mentioned sarcoidosis because I am actually having several symptoms of sarcoidosis. I've been having some mysterious shortness of breath with exertion issues and I do work with strong chemicals. The respiratory symptoms were actually what caused me to subscribe to this service and I've discussed those issues with a cardiologist here. (cardiac things have been ruled out after several tests and I see a pulmonologist next month.) However, I never would have thought that this spot on my nose could be related to all of that. So - one quick question if you dont mind, and I will send more pictures tomorrow. When I look at images of skin manifestations of sarcoidosis, they all show clusters of spots or bumps (or large areas of redness). Could one small spot on my nose be the only skin manifestaion of sarcoidosis? Thank you so much.