Update, biopsy results, mole benign

[worriermama]

Mainly posting this for anyone else with melanoma fears who may come along in the future!

I got my next round of results today. Clear margins on the severely atypical mole, and the one on the side of my boob was completely normal/benign. So no further action needed!

The boob one was itchy, flaky/scaly, and grew rapidly, yet turned out to be nothing at all.

I have been so anxious for the past month (3 moles biopsied and one re-scraped), and it all turned out okay.

Hopefully others in my shoes will take comfort in this. The severely atypical one was almost black with jagged borders, but even that one was not cancerous!

Cheers!

[Fishmanpa]

Great News!

And yes, hopefully others will read this and be encouraged that their worst fears typically never come to fruition

Positive thoughts

[Sphincterclench]

Awesome news, Love it when people report back.

[worriermama]

Thank you!

Yes, I'm really reminded how powerful Health Anxiety (OCD, really) is. I've been in CBT for a while and I'm usually pretty good at not giving into the compulsions and reassurance-seeking, but this time I was just thrown for a loop so badly. It was my first "real" health "scare" since I became a mom so I think that had something to do with it. I really felt convinced that I actually had melanoma and that I was about to receive a death sentence. It was terrible, and I spent Christmas on the verge of tears every time I would look at or hold my children.

Now here I am with three benign results and my derm saying "See you in a year!" That is so, so far from what my brain was telling me would happen for the past month.

Because of this experience I have resolved to get all my annual checkups out of the way in the next couple months (OBGYN, dentist, eye exam, etc.) and once I do those things I'm going to reward myself with something fun. I would never have gotten so worked up about these moles if I hadn't skipped my yearly derm checkup for two years because I was busy with my babies and, honestly, being avoidant.

Anyway thanks again to all who responded to my posts about this issue!

[Captain irrational]

Great news. And just goes to show, even the funkiest looking moles are still highly unlikely to be cancer.

[GlassPinata]

What a relief! Great news.

[Doug90]

It just goes to show, even though you shouldn't ignore suspicious moles, that even the nastiest looking ones 95% of the time are benign.
I know the media and medical field like to drive home horror stories over and over to get the ignorant beach goers and tanners to check their skin every once in a while, the problem is they make it seem like every second mark on our skin is a ticking timebomb.

[ariana95]

Thank you for posting this. Scheduled for a biopsy on a very angry looking mole and this has calmed my nerves

[nicole97]

Worriermama, was there a post before this about the moles? I tried looking but didn't see anything. Glad everything is okay. Those severely atypical ones are so nerve wracking. I have had a couple now (and waiting on a biopsy currently which they think will be coming back atypical as well) and it makes me feel like it's only a matter of time before one slips by :(

[Halle0587]

Fantastic news! I love that you took the time to follow up to help out others at ease, I think that's a huge thing that the Internet doesn't have enough of. So happy for you, rest and take it easy.