Popped my cherry (angloma).

I don't tend to run to the Doctor for every little thing.

Really.

I'm of the opinion, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If I feel fine, I'm probably fine. Interestingly, lately I've been reading articles that some of the medical establishment is coming to the same opinion.

In fact, except for a hernia operation 20 years ago, the only reason I've been to a doctor in my adult life was for my meds check; my yearly Lipitor prescription (and even that seems unnecessary to me if nothing else has changed...)

Anyway, for a long time I've had this reddish mole-like thing on my thigh which seems to have gotten bigger and itches once in awhile.

I woke up this morning, and I had scratched at it so much it was bleeding. What was worse, it was no longer just round, but had an irregular shape. I go online and look up the dreaded melonoma. Sure looks suspicious.

So I get dressed and go directly to my doctor's office. The receptionist wants to make an appointment, but I just stand there and ask for five minutes, and so on, and finally she agrees to let the nurse practitioner look me over.

While I'm waiting, they do a blood pressure test and I'm high. "Usually, if anything, I'm low," I say. (Linda says, "Of course your blood pressure was high. I could see it in your face....")

So the practitioner comes in and seems very serious when I describe my symptoms, but the second I show her, she smiles and says, "That's a cherry angloma. Go home and look it up. It's harmless."

Well, I tell you -- that's a stupid way to get a rush of endorphins but that's what I got. Huge relief. I may have been silly, but I'm glad I insisted on a quick answer; I sure wasn't looking forward to waiting for a test.

I go home and look it up, and sure enough -- I can see how I was fooled. A benign skin growth.

One of the possible "complications": "Psychological distress."

Yeah.