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I’m very scared
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I’m very scared

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › I’m very scared

  • Post
    • December 28, 2017 at 9:03 am
    abeluta
    Participant

      I'm 40 and I got this diagnosis

      initial histopathological diagnosis: melanoma in situ VS
      melanoma t1a
      Antibodies: KI67, HMB 45
      results:
      KI67 positive in approximately 15% of the melanocytic proliferation nuclei
      HMB45 positive intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation
      size lesions 5mm, depth 0.6mm
      final diagnosis: melanoma in situ radial growth phase , negative margins (tis NxMx)

      is melanoma in situ or t1a?

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    • Replies
        • December 28, 2017 at 3:08 pm
        Janner
        Participant

          Final diagnosis is what you look at and that is in situ.  The first diagnosis is what they think it might be (give the pathologist a starting point) but you always go with the final diagnosis.  Sucks to be diagnosed with any melanoma but if you have to have a diagnosis, this is what you want to see.  Extremely good prognosis.  You have negative margins but might not have wide margins and that would be done with another excision – a WLE (wide local excision).

            • December 29, 2017 at 6:36 am
            Caiusdoru
            Participant

              Do not worry!

            • December 29, 2017 at 8:41 am
            abeluta
            Participant

              thank you very much, I apologize if I have written wrong but I am Romanian. I'm glad I found this forum. I'm scared of diagnosis. I sent the biopsy for the second opinion and await the result. I hope in all my heart to be in situ. It confuses me as he writes and t1

              Now I sit and think if it's in situ or not

               

                • December 29, 2017 at 1:53 pm
                Janner
                Participant

                  There really isn't any confusion, this is how many reports are written.  Is your second opinion with a pathologist who only looks at skin tissue?  Even if this were stage 1a, the treatment is the same. Larger margins removed.  But the pathologist is saying that the melanoma cells are growing in a horizontal plane and they haven't started growing downward vertically.  (Radial growth phase).  Radial growth phase supports the in situ diagnosis.  It appears this was an existing mole because there are other melanocytes present but they haven't become melanoma.  This report says melanoma in situ.  The next report will hopefully say the same. I'm hoping it is read by someone who sees a lot of melanoma.  But regardless of the final diagnosis, just have additional margins taken – 1 cm would be good for being cautious.

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