Moles again

[coastgirl]

Here we go AGAIN. Every time I go to the dermatologist they want to biopsy moles. I have a bunch on me, and they all look "ugly". However my first very good dermo that I had said "that's just how your body makes moles". So, I keep an eye on them.

But today she wanted to biopsy 2 moles on my back. She looked at them with her dermoscope thing I think and still wanted to biopsy. I don't know if the dermoscope is like some sort of accurate test or what (I don't want to google).

I'm pretty sure she used it the last couple times I had biopsies but I can't remember (all moles came back totally benign).

At least the pink spot I was worried about was just a keratosis. I have already had basal cell carcinoma so this is my trigger. Had to take a huge xanax just to go into my appointment.:weep:

[roseanxiety]

I have terrible mole anxiety too and take Xanax for my appts. I am currently overdue for my mole check because i am afraid to go. How long will it take to get results? I totally sympathize with you having to wait for the results. they are probably benign though.


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[lofwyr]

I have a friend whose son's father has a familial genetic predisposition to melanoma. To the point where one girl even passed from it at age 23.

At 17 this poor kid got melanoma on his foot, but they got it all, or so they though. Then three years later, this summer, the nevus came back, so needless to say, the family was very worried. The dermatologist removed it, they sent it up the food chain of pathologists. It ended up going all the way to the Mayo Clinic. It took over three weeks. Even the doctor was discussing potential chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and perhaps having to remove the middle toe it was on.

With all that doom and gloom, the biopsy actually came back, "negative for melanoma, just severe atypia." Even this poor kid, now gone through the ringer, did not have melanoma.

The point of all this, is that something like 95% of all pathologies come back *not* cancer. Even ones that are super suspicious--this kid had every red flag in the world--and still was in the clear.

[coastgirl]

It usually takes like a week to get results.

I mean, my only consolation is that I was at the dermo like 4 months ago, and she didn't biopsy them then and I don't think they have changed much in the meantime.

I'm almost out of Xanax and OF COURSE my psychiatrist is MIA right now due to family issues and has like zero appointments available to get a refill. :(

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

[coastgirl]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239


I don't really understand the need to move it. The best way to kill a forum is to create too many subforums. This forum has a great search feature - people can find what they need without endless subcategories

[nomorepanic]

So we just have one forum then called "problems" and post everything in there???

People do NOT use the search facility.

[coastgirl]

I really got put through the wringer today. I had been waiting on biopsy results for two moles for over a week, which is stressful in and of itself. Usually they call and leave a message and say "the moles were benign" and that's it. So today I looked at my messages and saw that they wanted me to call them back. That means something is up - the only other time they did that was when I had the BCC on my nose.

So, I start really freaking out. I call them and I have to be on hold for so long listening to a recording about melanoma and other skin cancers over and over.

Then the nurse assistant gets on the line and is so SOMBER. She goes "Are you [my name]? My name is _____ and I will be assisting you today." Sounding like she was at a funeral or something.

At this point I'm like sweating blood because the two moles I had biopsied were irregular brown moles, so if something was wrong all I can think is that it's melanoma.

But they said I had two dysplastic nevus and the dermo wanted to fully excise them.

I mean, I was relieved but also still upset. Last week I heard friend from high school who is 2 years younger than me got melanoma (he is doing ok now). And I am in a high risk group as I have a number of "odd" moles and a family history of melanoma.

I just don't know. I was doing so well ignoring my skin and trusting that my 2-3x a year dermo visits were enough. But now I'm afraid I'm going to be ultra worried all the time again.

I am exhausted and I hate that I have to go through this several times a year. They always want to biopsy something when I go in :( At this point I just want them to biopsy all my moles at once and just be done with it.

[bin tenn]

Sorry this is worrying you. I obviously can't say whether you should be truly concerned or not, but keep in mind it's not something to worry about unless the derm says you should worry. Dysplastic nevi are seemingly a common occurrence, and as far as I know they have no direct correlation to melanoma. Last I read (when I had my melanoma anxiety up to a couple years ago) they still don't understand a whole heck of a lot about melanoma and dysplastic nevi. Keep in mind that's "what I read" and is no replacement for what your derm may tell you. They're the expert. :D But there are soooo many stories of people have dysplastic lesions being removed and they never develop any skin cancer. It happens.

I understand that you have family history, so it makes sense that you're worried. I get it. But again, let your derm guide you. They know what they're doing, they see this stuff all the time. I hope everything goes well.

[WiseMonkey]

I've had dysplastic nevi removed before and they are benign. Also had a squamous cell carcinoma (in situ) removed from my shoulder which is fine. Now have to have a couple of precancerous lesions (more SSC) removed from my scalp (where the parting is) at the front. All these are caused by sun damage and far more common than melanoma but I get a whole skin check yearly as well. I live in New Zealand which gets a lot of sun (high UV) in summer, so do cover up and also wear a cap or hat.

[coastgirl]

So I talked to the dermatologist about the procedure to get clear margins for the dysplastic nevus, and they said I would have 14 days of stitches and 2 more weeks of reduced activity. I JUST moved into a vacation rental for two months at the beach to surf!!!

I asked them if it was urgent and if I could delay the procedure safely. They didn't seem that concerned, and said that the doctor likes them done within three months. Getting it done Nov. 1 would be 2.5 months after the biopsy.

I just don't know what to do....logically it seems that these dysplastic nevi rarely turn into melanoma if ever. But I have to balance ruining my mini vacation retreat vs worrying and being anxious about developing melanoma within the next month and a half just because I wanted to surf.

This is so aggravating!!!!!!!!!!! What would you guys do? Knowing full well you are not my doctor (and my doc said I could wait).

[RadioGaGa]

coastgirl

I am not a doctor. However, I have been through the mole anxiety once last year, when I had a funny looking mole which caused me great anxiety due to my heavy sunbed use for a few years from my late teens to early 20s (we're talking 15 minute sessions, three times a week EVERY week).

I came across a blog written by a GP-turned-Dermatologist from the south of England. His blog was aimed at healthcare professionals who would be using dermoscopy (looking at skin lesions through a microscope, basically). He provided very good, strong evidence that dysplastic nevi are notpre-cancerous, despite what some other doctors may say or believe. All they are is "funny looking moles" - and that's it.

Again, I am not a doctor - I studied pharmacy, not medicine. But Stephen Hayes makes the point on his blog that many patients are needlessly panicked/worried when they are told they have a dysplastic nevus and that it is "pre cancerous". He says there is no evidence this is the case. For the benefit of reassuring you, I will now go and find the article where he discusses the same, and hope to reassure you.

Good luck

[RadioGaGa]

Sorry it took me a while to find it, but HERE (https://dermoscopy.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/bad-information-on-moles-and-melanoma/) is the article

The important point for anyone worrying about "pre-cancerous" moles is the following:


The young lady said, and I quote, ‘I realised if I didn’t have them taken off I could end up with skin cancer’. This amounts to an assertion that these moles were known to be pre-malignant.No evidence is provided to support this statement, and I am concerned that it may lead to needless fear. I am seeing patients in my NHS clinic who have become terrified witless about trivial moles after something they have seen on line.

According to the latest research, which I have blogged about before here (https://dermoscopy.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/harald-kittler-on-the-myth-of-dysplastic-naevi/), there is probably no such thing as an identifiable ‘pre-malignant mole’. So, with respect to Miss Ravenscroft, she appears to have picked up a populist idea which is scientifically established to be wrong. The idea that funny looking moles need to be cut out to stop them developing into cancer is mistaken, and can lead to needless fear and surgical scars.

Hope I've helped. Again, I'm not a dr, but there's no point having reliable sources of information and not sharing them when it can help alleviate people's concerns or worries.



EDIT: The bold/italic emphasis came from his post - I wasn't able to remove the emphasis when posting.

[coastgirl]

Thank you! This is the kind of info I need to make a decision. I guess derms are a bit split on this issue!

I also found this:

https://www.ascopost.com/issues/september-15-2013/low-risk-of-transformation-to-melanoma-for-biopsy-diagnosed-mildly-or-moderately-dysplastic-nevi/

[coastgirl]

A month or so ago I had a further removal of a moderately dysplastic nevus. They did a deeper shave removal instead of the very invasive punch removal that takes over a month to properly heal. The dermatologist was fine with this.

I hadn't looked at the site recently but I just checked on it before showering and there appears to be a freckle on the smooth scarred skin where the biopsy was done!!

They had called to tell me the margins were clear and so they should have gotten all of it and now I'm extremely worried that it's growing back!!

It's a small spot and light brown not dark, but it's weird it appeared on the scar :weep::weep:

I'm posting here so I don't Google :(

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

[Sparky16]

Could it just be post inflammatory hyperpigmentation? If they got clean margins and it's lighter than the original mole, that's what occurs to me. Give the dermatologist's office a call and ask.