Just diagnosed with spitzoid Melanoma

You are jumping way ahead here.  First, why did he shave the rest of the tumor if you will be seeing a surgeon?  Not a good idea.  The SNB is best done with the least amount of tissue removed.  For future reference, shave biopsies aren't done on me because they can compromise staging if they aren't deep enough, but docs use them because they are easy.  I don't allow them.

Is the oncologist you are seeing a melanoma specialist?  Are you at a big CANCER center?  Did you get a copy of your pathology report?  You really need a good specialist.  You are young and this is very important.  There should be no discussion of treatment because you aren't even staged yet.  Do you know the depth of the lesion?  It's important.  Was the deep margin clear?  It's important.  After the SNB results, you'll most likely be staged and then you can look at options.  We can only give you basic advice here because much of our info depends on information gleaned from your pathology report.  Depth, mitosis, ulceration…. This information helps us help you.  Talk to a specialist and find a derm who specializes in melanoma!

Who are the pathologists from the university reading the slides?  Again, "because of your age", I'd be asking the slides be sent to UCSF.  They are experts in Spitz Nevi and since you do fall outside the normal parameters for a Spitz Nevus (<20 years old), I'd want an expert opinion.  That's me. 

Did you have clean deep margins?  I'd definitely be having the SNB but it's important to understand if the initial biopsy was bisected leaving more lesion UNDER what was removed.

Who are the pathologists from the university reading the slides?  Again, "because of your age", I'd be asking the slides be sent to UCSF.  They are experts in Spitz Nevi and since you do fall outside the normal parameters for a Spitz Nevus (<20 years old), I'd want an expert opinion.  That's me. 

Did you have clean deep margins?  I'd definitely be having the SNB but it's important to understand if the initial biopsy was bisected leaving more lesion UNDER what was removed.

Who are the pathologists from the university reading the slides?  Again, "because of your age", I'd be asking the slides be sent to UCSF.  They are experts in Spitz Nevi and since you do fall outside the normal parameters for a Spitz Nevus (<20 years old), I'd want an expert opinion.  That's me. 

Did you have clean deep margins?  I'd definitely be having the SNB but it's important to understand if the initial biopsy was bisected leaving more lesion UNDER what was removed.

This is almost exactly my story. Just had wide excision and sentinel lymph node done a week and a half ago. I still am needing to meet with an oncologist but I'm curious what ever happened with yours. 

I was just diagnosed with a spitzoid melanoma on my left cheek under my eye.  I am 29, turn 30 next month.  The leison was on a birth mark I'd had on my face since around the age of 3 or 4 (doctors called it a hemangeoma).  At the time, doctors did not want to touch it because of its proiximity to my eye (early 1990s). I went to a dermatologist about a seperate issue in Jan 2018, while there he noticed a "freckle" inside the birthmark leison on my face.  He did a punch hole biopsy that was sent to a lab here in the Sacramento area.  The local lab was uncertain so they then sent the slides to UCSF (sounds like I'm lucky to be close to a facility with spitzoid experience).  They concluded that it was worriesome but still unclear.  A Mohs surgeon exercised an elipse shaped biopsy that then came back as atypical melanocytic proliferation, consistent with melanoma 1.2mm in thickness (from UCSF again).  I saw an ENT doctor who wanted to remove an additional 8mm margin to get a gross 1 cm margin and didnt' really recommend a sentinal node biopsy since data shows it really doesn't affect outcome.  I saw a dermatologist for a second opinion today who reffered me to Dr. Kashani-Sabet at the Center for Melanoma Research and Treatment in San Francisco.  I'm waiting to hear back from Dr. Kashani-Sabet's office now.  If you have any updates on your treatment please reply.  I'm quite upset.  The dermatologist today talked about the complexity of my melanoma.  I have a perinerural invasion present meaning not only could more surgery cause permanent nerve damage, but the melanoma could also spread using my nerves if it has metastasized.

Sorry for the long post, thank you for your time 🙂

Emmy

I accidentally found your post, and realized you just wrote it a couple of days ago, even though the origins of this thread are several years old. My 2 year old  was diagnosed with Spitzoid Melanoma three weeks before her second birthday (September 2017). She had the surgery to remove more tissue and do the lymph node biopsy. She was stage II because it had not spread to her lymph nodes. So, now we just watch her very carefully and follow up with all sorts of different doctors. It's a scary diagnosis, but here we are, only 5 months later and feel so much better about everything. Best of luck to you!! 

You are jumping way ahead here.  First, why did he shave the rest of the tumor if you will be seeing a surgeon?  Not a good idea.  The SNB is best done with the least amount of tissue removed.  For future reference, shave biopsies aren't done on me because they can compromise staging if they aren't deep enough, but docs use them because they are easy.  I don't allow them.

Is the oncologist you are seeing a melanoma specialist?  Are you at a big CANCER center?  Did you get a copy of your pathology report?  You really need a good specialist.  You are young and this is very important.  There should be no discussion of treatment because you aren't even staged yet.  Do you know the depth of the lesion?  It's important.  Was the deep margin clear?  It's important.  After the SNB results, you'll most likely be staged and then you can look at options.  We can only give you basic advice here because much of our info depends on information gleaned from your pathology report.  Depth, mitosis, ulceration…. This information helps us help you.  Talk to a specialist and find a derm who specializes in melanoma!

You are jumping way ahead here.  First, why did he shave the rest of the tumor if you will be seeing a surgeon?  Not a good idea.  The SNB is best done with the least amount of tissue removed.  For future reference, shave biopsies aren't done on me because they can compromise staging if they aren't deep enough, but docs use them because they are easy.  I don't allow them.

Is the oncologist you are seeing a melanoma specialist?  Are you at a big CANCER center?  Did you get a copy of your pathology report?  You really need a good specialist.  You are young and this is very important.  There should be no discussion of treatment because you aren't even staged yet.  Do you know the depth of the lesion?  It's important.  Was the deep margin clear?  It's important.  After the SNB results, you'll most likely be staged and then you can look at options.  We can only give you basic advice here because much of our info depends on information gleaned from your pathology report.  Depth, mitosis, ulceration…. This information helps us help you.  Talk to a specialist and find a derm who specializes in melanoma!

I should add to my post that I’m a 52 year old woman which makes the spitzoid very uncommon in my age group. 

I am a 44 year old female, had a spitzoid melanoma removed two weeks ago.  I am having trouble finding information on this type of melanoma since it is generally associated with children.  Any information would be helpful.  Thank you.