Challenges in self-screening
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Challenges in self-screening

› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Challenges in self-screening

  • Post
    • April 13, 2017 at 8:02 pm
    sconover
    Participant

      Hi! I was first diagnosed with melanoma when I was 22 and have since had two other diagnoses. I'm trying to understand the challenges other people who have had melanoma face, as it can be difficult to know if you should book an emergency dermatology appointment right away or if a mole is probably fine.

      What do you guys do to stay on top of it?

      What do you wish were different or easier?

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    • Replies
        • April 13, 2017 at 8:39 pm
        Jamie1960
        Participant

          I self check fairly continuously, and, if you can imagine the face of a clock, see my dermatologist every 6 months at "3" and "9" and my surgeon every 6 months at "6" and "12" so that I get a fresh set of eyes every 3 months.

          The surgeon is primarily interested in recurrences at prior surgical sites, while the dermatologist looks for new suspicious nevi.

          Generally, the above combination results in 2-4 biopsies annually (initiated by the dermatologist) and, in each of the past several years, one WLE with an SLNB on one occassion..

          I will soon be able to do a passable impression of a baseball, but it beats the alternative, as they say.

          Hope this is helpful.

            • April 13, 2017 at 8:41 pm
            Jamie1960
            Participant

              PS – With respect to melanoma (only !), I wish I were not Irish !

            • April 15, 2017 at 5:53 am
            Marksa2570
            Participant

              I see from your profile it looks like your first  melanoma was on your back. Were the other two diagnoses also melanoma?  How did you find those? 

               I'm still new here so I'm overly observant about my skin and checking it frequently but I have noticed it's less now than it was right after my diagnoses.    My hope is with time it'll be less. At least for this first two years I will have appointments with my derm every three months and I'm keeping it fairly close track on what I have on my skin.    I also have a good friend who's agreed to look at my back and scalp for me – those are the ones I can't see.  

              I do hope (or think) that maybe once you've had your first melanoma, you get a sixth-sense about new activity and hopefully will be more aware if it occurs 

              Best wishes to everyone out there.    

               

               

               

                • April 15, 2017 at 3:59 pm
                sconover
                Participant

                  The other two were on my legs and they were also melanoma. I found them because they were both within a year an a half of my first diagnosis, and I would go to my PCP right away to get them biopsied. I just checked a lot to see if they looked different. I don't know about a sixth sense!

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