Waiting on Biopsy- TORTURE

[CHELLEB1017]

Well I am so happy it was not the terrible M word!!!

[NervUs]

Me too.

Part of the reason it scares me so much is because my sister had it. She is fine, luckily, but hers was amelanotic just like this one was!

I went through a major melanoma panic 3 years ago and so decided that part of getting better was to stop checking. I was literally finding things to go to the dermatologist like every single month. I guess I went a little overboard and will NOT be doing that again, lol

[CharmaineD]

I know how worrying that wait can be for those results. Mine took days and it was not good news. But guess what here I am 100% fine. The only thing is this did no favours for my anxiety, now I strangely have no more fear of Melanoma I find other diseases to obsess over....sigh.

[HopelessWorrier2011]

Hi NervUs,

Can you explain to me what your blemish looked like? I have one on my arm that I have been fretting about for weeks. A nurse practitioner has assured me it looks fine no pigmentation etc but that to me doesn't rule out basal cell. I'm going through a severe bout of skin cancer anxiety at the moment. Mine looks like a raised bit of crinkled skin no soreness and smaller than a tip of a pencil rubber xx

[NervUs]

Hi NervUs,

Can you explain to me what your blemish looked like? I have one on my arm that I have been fretting about for weeks. A nurse practitioner has assured me it looks fine no pigmentation etc but that to me doesn't rule out basal cell. I'm going through a severe bout of skin cancer anxiety at the moment. Mine looks like a raised bit of crinkled skin no soreness and smaller than a tip of a pencil rubber xx

Mine looked nothing like any picture of basal cell carcinoma I've seen. It was reddish-brown and pretty soft and wobbly, no pain or itching. It seemed like a slightly more firmly attached skin tag, like countless others I have on my body. It was about 6 mm.

I have been completely freaked about this ever since finding out, and the one thing I've taken from my excessive googling is that BCC presents in a huge variety of ways. I am not saying yours necessarily sounds suspicious, but it is the easiest thing in the world to get a second opinion. I think I would in your case and probably just ask to have it removed. The waiting is not fun, but it gives you your answer! You could just have a SK forming, or even acitinic keratosis (which is considered a possible squamous cell precursor- I also had one of those pop up right after my BCC, or any number of totally benign things.

I am freaking over my skin so bad right now. Everything seems suspect. I know BCC is the "good" skin cancer, but it doesn't feel that great to me simply because I have so many spots and moles and weird things all over my skin. I have new found appreciation for skin cancer, but taking care of it early seems to make it a nonevent. If I can somehow get through the anxiety about all the stuff I have let go (I have a second opinion skin check in late June), I THINK my head space will improve. Skin paranoia sucks though- I, at least, have stuff breaking out constantly, and it is really hard to remember everything.

Good luck- just get your second opinion and it will all be fine!

[HopelessWorrier2011]

Thank you for your response. I'm almost certain I will seek a second opinion. The skin is such a huge organ it's almost impossible to control the health anxiety attached to it x

[coastgirl]

I went through a huge skin scare a year ago. I had 2 things biopsied....one I was convinced was nodular amelatonic melanoma on my cheek. The dermo wanted to biopsy it. The wait nearly sent me into a 7 day panic attack. Had to go to the urgent care to get Xanax because I couldn't function. The one I was worried about came back benign, but the other one came back as BCC. The fact that ONE was skin cancer (even though not Melanoma) gave me a year long intense struggle with anxiety. I feel your pain! I have to go in and get my skin checked soon and I have been putting off the appointment I have developed a HUGE phobia of the dermatologist as a result :(

[NervUs]

Sorry coastgirl.
I think the root of my worry is that I HAD melanoma panic like 4-5 years ago. As part of getting over it, I really stopped checking my skin. I did go to my annual skin checks, but that was it, and I would sometimes schedule every 1.5.

So now, I am out of practice with my skin. I know I've had some stuff a long time but can't exactly remember how it used to look. Of course, I can't fully trust doctor opinions, especially since the PA scanned right over my bump and I was like, "what about this one?"

I have a really weird vascular pattern on my nose. It's not really noticeable unless you really look and know where to look, but it looks like white rings around a center. THe PA at my skin check didn't say anything about it (but must have seen it under those lights), then I went to a second dermatologist who really examined them and looked at them with a dermascope and she determined they were just the way my blood vessels lay (I have about 7 of them on my nose, and they are other places too, but you kind of have to dig around to find them).

Even though I left without a biopsy, I can not get over....what if she is wrong????? I know at least two have been there a long time, and every time I look I find more. I guess I would be the unluckiest person alive to have that many BCCs on a regular sized nose and two medical people passed them over as not cancer- and one taking a lot of time investigating them.

But, that's hypochondria for you. The fact that dermatologists ARE wrong often enough is the only thing I can think of. I've made another appointment for late June and hoping I can just get this cleared up once and for all. I also DO give credence to the idea that biopsying everything can do more harm than good, and this is right on the tip of my nose- so cosmetically an issue, which doesn't fully matter to me but it is something.

Damn, feels good to just get it out.

Sorry Charmaine that you got bad news and that you have switched your fears to other cancers- but also glad you aren't fearing melanoma anymore, even with a history. I am dreaming of the day when I can just release all the fear, so releasing fear of something you've actually had is some kind of step forward, I think.

[Thelegend27]

Google always comes up with the worst case scenario, don't freak out, wait for the results before you take action.

Anxiety is a nightmare believe me I know, but the worst thing to so is let it get the better of you.

Think positive thoughts, if your doctor didn't seen too concerned than just relax. Most of the time when you have something removed from your body it gets biopsied it's just a precaution.

[HopelessWorrier2011]

Skin cancer anxiety is the worst one I have experienced by far as there is so much of it!