"It's not a tumor"

Well, technically it is, I guess.

Had a small bump on my shoulder for about 2 months that seemed like a bug bite at first, but never healed. Finally went out to the hospital yesterday, as it's now summer vacaction for the kids, and it took the extremely competent English speaking doctor all of about 2 seconds to say "dermatofibroma".

Which in normal person speak means skin fibroid or skin fibroid tumor. Basically a benign growth of histiocyte immune cells that [probably] overreacted to something... [maybe a bug bite, according to some websites, so I wasn't completely crazy imagining there was one...]

So upon our return from the US in August, I've got an appointment with a friendly Japanese man with a very sharp knife to excise it for me...

Dermatofibroma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Dermatofibromas are harmless benign skin growths, found especially on the legs, that range in size from about 0.5 to 1 cm. They are hard papules (rounded bumps) that may appear in a variety of colors, usually brownish to tan. Typical dermatofibromas cause little or no discomfort, although itching and tenderness can occur. Some physicians and researchers believe dermatofibromas form as a reaction to previous injuries such as insect bites or thorn pricks."