Possible skin cancer scare.

I'm only 26... I figured I would be safe for a while. I hope I am right. It used to be small and come and go with sun exposure, but this growing multicolor dot on my left arm has me thinking otherwise unfortunately. I do not possess insurance so I've been searching for a dermatologist I can afford to go to in order to test it and what not. Any help will be appreciated. Popped up a week ago and is still slowly growing. Here is a crappy picture.

You should try going to A urgent care dock in the box type deal. They should be able to determine weather or not it is actually skin cancer with A minimal amount of money. Don't wait to much longer.

Low income clinics often have a relationship with a dermatologist who work cheap for them something like a day or two per month. This way you see someone who specializes in the sort of thing you are experiencing at a price you can afford. It is likely to be a popular service, be prepared to wait. Please don't ignore it. Hope you find a skilled doc who cares about his/her fellow man enough to help you out. Don't worry, Amos

Google melanoma and click images, You'll find a lot of descriptions of what is and isn't a melanoma. Also, you can send your GP a good photo of it and they should be able to advise you. I know Kaiser does this.
I think the main thing they look for is an irregular border

Abc's.

Asymmetry
border irregularity
Color

Any combo of the three above - get a biopsy and resection ASAP. Also depth pain thickness bleeding and scaling.

Get it checked ASAP. Money isn't an issue, if its cancer and not caught in time , well you know...

I don't know how relevant this is to your situation, but my dog recently had a lump on his shoulder.  The path we took was to do a biopsy, which came back with uncertain results.  We ended up removing the lump, and after the surgery, they sent the sample to the lab to check the edges for cancerous cells (to make sure the cancerous cells were removed completely, and hadn't gone past the lump).  If I was in your position, I might just get it removed, then have the sample checked afterwards.  The pre-surgery biopsy was close in expense to the post-surgery lab work, so it kind of stung (in hindsight) that that biopsy procedure was "unnecessary", especially when the results were inconclusive.  Basically, I'm recommending that you weigh the cost of the biopsy against just removing the damn thing.  Also, if you remove it, you won't have to worry about it anymore.

Just my two cents.  I'm neither a doctor, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

Thankyou guys. The google images look a lot like this. I'm definitely in a rush to get it checked

Melanoma is only one kind of skin cancer.  Here is a link showing the various types;

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/skincancer/galleries/skin-cancer-images

The red area around it makes me think it's infected. Maybe a tick bite?

Don't diagnose on the internet. If you are low income at this point in your life that is what Obamacare is all about. Depending on how much you make the State of California thru the Feds subsidizes a large portion of your premium if you are making very little or nothing you get Medical. There is no reason for you not to have insurance and go to the DR.

Having said that I had a weird deal on my arm that I went to a dermatologist for. He just wacked off and sent it to the lab. Cost me less than $200

Go get it checked out.

Having said that I had a weird deal on my arm that I went to a dermatologist for. He just wacked off and sent it to the lab. Cost me less than $200

OK, but what did the doc do about the weird deal on your arm? 

~~~

Driftwood, dude, WTF are you waiting for? 

If money issues are slowing you getting this checked out, fuck it, I got $50 on you.

-Allen

I got another 50 someone start one of them paypal things if needs be.