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Question:
Hi, I have a similar problem to some other people that have written in. I have small skin coloured bumps around the shaft of my penis that have been there since I can remember (I am now 22). Most of the answers the others have recieved have been to see a dermatologist. My concern is that although I have had these since before I was sexually active, could they be an STD? Possibly something that my parents had that has been passed through birth?

Answer:
by Melissa BEE: ()
Hi, Thank you for your question.

There are lots of skin lumps and bumps (I have quite a few) some are related to moles, some are related to the sun (solar keratoses) some are wart-like growths, and others are skin tags, all of these are (usually) non-malignant.

Then there are 'suspicious' looking lumps, pre-malignant ones and malignant. They go from changes in a growth or tissue or the development of certain types of skin malignancy -- skin cancer -- which are named after the skin layer they arise from - Squamous Cell Carcinomas (SCC's) Basal Cell Carcinomas (BBC's) and the the bad ones - Melanoma.

As you expected, I will suggest going to your doctor if you are worried. If he (or she) thinks it looks suspicious, they will refer you onto a dermatologist. The only way to be certain is with a skin scraping.

Best Wishes,

Melissa BEE

Reviewed by: Scott Gross M. Ed.

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