› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Mole or Birthmark
- This topic has 6 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 8 months ago by
hellokitty1.
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- September 18, 2017 at 10:07 pm
So I'm at about witts end with my derm. I think he's nice and has credentials, but getting anything removed is a battle. I've had many moles removed. The worst one was severly atypical. None have come back with no atypica, and my mother had melanoma. But he treats me like such a hypocondriac. I had a mole on my leg that's getting smaller and lighter, pretty quickly too, but he wouldn't even look at it with his dermascope. I'm getting a second opinion on that one in two weeks.
I have a large cafe-au-lait birthmark on my lower stomach. Since I was very young, like 2 years old, there was something that looked very similar on my wrist, right on the bone. It's was a flat, yellowish tan sploch that's see-though. But I noticed the other month it has faded to almost nothing. The derm said basically "too bad, so sad." He said if it's bad I'll just have to wait for a lump under my arm or something to show melanoma. He said it can't be biopsied or graded because it's almost gone. I can still see it in some lights, so it's not completely gone.
Should I insist this is taken off? Or should I trust it's a cafe-au-lait birthmark? Is that something a lab could even determine?
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- September 19, 2017 at 12:03 am
Moles can regress, its a natural behavior. It’s not unheard of to have no moles at an advanced age. So my criteria is of the mole was concerning, it should be removed. However if I’m not concerned about the mole before it faded, then I’m not concerned after it starts fading. Changing for the worse is my criteria. So while I’m not impressed with your derm’s style, I’d actually be ok with the end result. I’ve had three melanoma primaries and this is what works for me. You have to do what works for you. Best wishes!-
- September 19, 2017 at 1:51 am
Well, that's the thing, I have no idea if the thing on my wrist was a mole or a lentigo or a cafe-au-lait birthmark. And thus I have no idea if it's concerning or not.
My severe mole was fading, not growing bigger or anything else. That's what got me to insist on its removal. So I'm scared of fading. And I'm very, very mad at myself for not noticing it on my wrist.
I'm convinced this is melanoma. And there's nothing I can do to stop it since apparently it can't be biopsied. I'm pretty depressed. My derm suggested my only option might be to go to an oncologist and have a scan.
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- September 19, 2017 at 2:10 am
Then your severe mole was going away and wasn't going to harm you. It wasn't changing for the worse but better! If there is nothing there, then there is nothing to biopsy. Likewise, there won't be anything to scan so seeing an oncologist is not really a good choice. Most won't even see you without a diagnosis – they typically don't even see early stage individuals. Scans only show TUMORS and you're not going to have tumors. And no insurance company will scan you without a better reason – and without a diagnosis. To me, it matters little if it was a cafe-au-lait or lentigo or mole because if it didn't catch your attention enough to biopsy it before it went away (and it is in a very visible location), then again I wouldn't stress the fading now. I'd say the likelihood this is melanoma is extremely small but that's my take. I've been on this site for 16+ years and the number of people who were convinced they had melanoma but actually didn't is staggering. There is nothing you can do now about this so let it go. I'd suggest you take pictures of your other lesions so you have a baseline for future comparison.
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- September 19, 2017 at 12:18 pm
That's just pattently untrue. Mole regression is a symptom of melanoma. It's also suspsected to be one cause behind "melanoma without a primary" cases. Change is always a concern. Fading is change. I've seen pictures of very faded moles on stage 4 patients. I doubt very much it had changed for the better for them.
I had my severe mole (actually a lentigo) for 20 years before it was removed, since I was in my early teens. You're not going to convince me that it was severe the whole time. The fading was the canary in the coal mine. If I hadn't had that sucker removed, I would be in real trouble. Now, was that one different from my wrist? Yes. It was a black ugly thing from the start.
No, the thing on my wrist didn't catch my attention. Largely because until recently I was very ignorant of these matters. Also somewhere along the line I got it in my head that it was a birthmark and never gave it much thought.
It's was a rectanglish shape, about 20mm x 10mm, light yellowish tan in color and a near match for my other cafe-au-lait spot. It was flat and see-through and uniform in color. We found it in a picture of me from when I was 2 or 3 years old.
I'm not trying to be disprespectful. I know you've probably seen and know a lot more than me. But given my history, fading freaks me out. I just want answers. I don't like feeling powerless. I don't like feeling like my only option is to sit around and wait for the lump under my arm when it's already too late.
Since I can still see it in some lights, as can my husband, and there would be abnormal cells left in lower levels of the dermis were it melanoma, I still don't understand why I can't get it biopsied. I'm going to insist.
I agree with you on the oncologist and have no idea why my derm said it. He may have been joking. I know PET scans are a lot of radiation, and I wouldn't subject myself to that for a looky loo, nor do I think any doctor would perform it.
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- September 19, 2017 at 11:13 pm
Ultimately you need to be comfortable. I had a dermatologist whom I trusted for over ten years but then when I had symptoms of melanoma and asked for a biopsy he said no. He told me it was lipoma and I should just go home and relax. I had to fight to get a biopsy and then found out it was stage IV metastatic disease. If you don't like your dermatologist's style then switch. I wouldn't recommend having procedures like scans but certainly a biospy should be an option if you want it. I'm a firm believer that your physician shouldn't be annoyed by your questions or concerns and should be able to explain their approach in a way your are comfortable with. If they aren't willing to work with you then find one who will. I'm lucky to live in the Boston area so there are many great doctors in the area and the good ones always spend the extra time to talk through any questions or concerns.
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- September 20, 2017 at 9:48 pm
I had my skin exam with my regular derm on Monday and got a second opinion today! I feel so blessed to have gotten this apt so early. He did a biopsy on the suspected birth mark and another mole that is disappearing (halo, although it's hard to see on skin as pale as mine). He did punch biopsies which my other doctor refused to ever do, and we schedualed an excisional biospy on a dark mole on my leg for next week!
I'm switching and very happy. I feel like I was finally heard and respected. Given my family history and personal history, there's a very good chance I will have melanoma one day, but I don't feel so alone anymore!
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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