Terrified of mole biopsy results! Calm me down?

[pumpkinbagel]

Hey folks,

I'm new to the forum though I've been lurking here on and off for the past few months. Health anxiety has been an on and off friend of mine for over a decade and over the past 8 months I've been going through a horrible time of it consuming my life.

Currently, my anxiety is focusing on melanoma and the fact that I'm convinced that I have it and that it's too late for me. Four months ago I saw a random news special about the ABCDE's of melanoma. I have a few big moles... two are on my back, are quite large (larger than a pencil eraser) and are very dark brown (I am very fair skinned!)

The moles have been there for as long as I can remember and my husband claims that they don't look any different than they ever have. They're in the dead center of my back, so I can't really see them well enough to tell. But after seeing the special on TV I was sent into an obsessive panic over them, when I've never thought much of them before.

I was so terrified of receiving bad news that it took me until this morning to see a dermatologist. I showed him all of the moles on my back and stomach and he said all of them looked normal but wanted to do a shave biopsy on the two big ones. The procedure was painless. I told him all about my anxiety hoping he'd say something reassuring, because i told him I was likely going to lose sleep waiting for the results.

He was a kind man but didn't really do much to assuage my fears. He talked about my anxiety and recommended exercise, etc, which I already do. The one thing he did say was that he's counting on me being around for a long time to look after my young children.

He told me if the moles come back moderately or severely dysplastic he'll recommend I come back for a full excision. He never mentioned the C-word outright, just talked about how there's a wide spectrum between a normal, non-dysplastic mole and actual malignancy.

Anyone have any positive stories to share about big ugly moles that ended up being nothing? Because I'm freaking out here. He said it'd only take a few days to get the results but that just feels like a lifetime right now. My moles were kind of oval, dark brown but had color variations within, and one was 7-8mm and the other was 6-8mm. They've been there for as long as I can remember.

Help?! :D

[Fishmanpa]

he did say was that he's counting on me being around for a long time to look after my young children.....He never mentioned the C-word.... They've been there for as long as I can remember.

You were triggered by a TV show which sent you into a panic. You saw a professional that said the above. That's about as positive and reassuring as one can get! Don't know what other reassurance would be better than that :shrug:

Most would be jumping for joy but for HAers, it's never that way :lac:

Positive thoughts

[Puddleduck]

I have had a few moles removed, one was quite dodgy looking and the did a bigger excision but it came back normal as did the others.
The worst one was quite black with a sun halo edge to it, they did a bigger excision
So more stitches!

[pumpkinbagel]

Most would be jumping for joy but for HAers, it's never that way :lac:


Isn't that the truth? Nothing is reassuring unless it's a 100% pathologically-confirmed all clear. And even then, HA will sneak in and find some reason to discredit the results I'm sure.


I have had a few moles removed, one was quite dodgy looking and the did a bigger excision but it came back normal as did the others.
The worst one was quite black with a sun halo edge to it, they did a bigger excision
So more stitches!

Thank you for sharing your experience. Hearing that you had a gnarly mole and that it was still benign helps me to be hopeful. I kept trying to bait my doctor into saying something more comforting.

"So... the fact that these have been there for as long as I can remember and they haven't changed, that's good, right?"

"Yes."

I mean, come on, doc, I've told you I'm gonna have panic attacks over this until I know I'm not headed for my death, give me more to work with! :weep:

[utrocket09]

My husband has had 20 moles removed. 5 of which are moderatly dysplastic. Of the 5, 2 had to be removed further to make sure they got everything. My point is try to relax, most often moles are dysplastic, meaning they are harmless.

[pumpkinbagel]

My husband has had 20 moles removed. 5 of which are moderatly dysplastic. Of the 5, 2 had to be removed further to make sure they got everything. My point is try to relax, most often moles are dysplastic, meaning they are harmless.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I keep going back and forth between being calm and rational ("it's going to come back fine") to semi-scared ("It'll come back dysplasti enough to need full excision and then I'll start freaking out about my skin in general because that means I'm higher risk in the future etc...") to full on cold sweat panic ("They're going to tell me it's melanoma, and I've waited so long to get these checked that it's going to have already spread.")

Ugh.

[NervUs]

I've had 9 or 10 come off, most of them with melanoma as the differential, and most of them came back mildly atypical, a couple normal.

I read it takes something like 35 biopsies to find 1 melanoma, and that is in people with serious risk factors-- not the general population. So, chances are extremely high, like way more than 99% that a mole with some melanoma features will not be melanoma.

I know how scary the cancer is. I am incredibly high risk due to Casper like complexion, history of insanely stupid sunburns, and family history in a close relative. Even with all that, my moles were only mildly atypical.

I do get checked twice a year, but have gotten to the point that I don't worry about it between visits.

[bulan]

In 2014 I was triggered by a news report as well. It's a miserable feeling to fear melanoma. I had 11 removed that year, including some that sound like yours. One had appeared over a short period of time, and another one had grown suspiciously during my pregnancy. Another one popped up under my eye, which my dermatologist refused to remove. All turned out benign. A couple years later, the same pregnancy mole began growing back, and I read on a dermatology website that, given the type of mole it originally was, any regrowth could only be cancerous. I was petrified. But it came back benign as well!

Lastly, several years ago my mom, who's very fair-skinned, discovered a dark mole with irregular borders on the sole of her foot. I was terrified, but again, it turned out to be benign.

I have more moles I want checked, and I'd like one or two biopsies as well, but I can't bring myself to fear them now, even with a similar history as yours. After enough benign moles, I got tired of the fear. :)

[pumpkinbagel]

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and your encouragement. My dermatologist called this morning with my pathology results (barely 24 hours after the biospy, WOW!) Both of those ugly moles were only mildly atypical, he said that's about as close to normal as you can get with moles that 'looked like that'. I'm so relieved.

[bulan]

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and your encouragement. My dermatologist called this morning with my pathology results (barely 24 hours after the biospy, WOW!) Both of those ugly moles were only mildly atypical, he said that's about as close to normal as you can get with moles that 'looked like that'. I'm so relieved.
That's fantastic news!! :)