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My own worst enemy
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My own worst enemy

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › My own worst enemy

  • Post
    • May 28, 2014 at 4:40 pm
    ray39
    Participant

      So I went yesterday to get my stitches out from my wide excision….everything clear, no problems.  Time to relax right?  Nope, not me….I asked the doctor to look an another mole on my back…."yeah, at some point in the next three months we'll take that off too just to get some history on you"…..I said how about today?  So, he went and did a deep shave biopsy on me and said "I don't see any pigmentation under it '….but, I got home and looked at it and see where there is thin black marks in it (kind of a line in the middle of the wound)….now I'm wondering if he was just trying to calm me down because I was so worried last time.  Is the line from the shave?  Is it a left over growth?  Boy, these atypical moles are really beginning to take over my life.  So, another week of waiting for results….

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    • Replies
        • May 28, 2014 at 4:51 pm
        Janner
        Participant

          Relax.  The lines are most likely "blood" related.  And remember, it's just not that common to have more than one melanoma primary.  Was this mole CHANGING?  Was this mole different from every other mole?  Think of the WHOLE picture – you are looking for that ugly duckling.  Just having an atypical moles doesn't mean it would ever turn into melanoma – the vast majority never do.  I have pictures of all my moles.  If they change for the worst, they are biopsied.  Otherwise, they get to stick around.  I know most of my moles are atypical to some degree, but since they aren't changing, I'm not worrying about them!

          BTW, I never do shaves on my moles.  Shaves do have the potential to leave the base of a lesion behind.  If I'm going to bother to have a biopsy, I have a punch.  Docs don't like them because they require stitches and more time.  But they basically are a full skin thickness biopsy which means "depth" – an important staging criteria – will not be compromised by the biopsy.  Since I don't biopsy without a very good reason (CHANGING so possible melanoma), I want the biopsy to be the best one for staging.

            • May 28, 2014 at 5:34 pm
            killmel
            Participant

              Ditto Janner  you shoulld have had a PUNCH BIOPSY. Your doctor mad a BIG MISTAKE!

              • May 28, 2014 at 5:34 pm
              killmel
              Participant

                Ditto Janner  you shoulld have had a PUNCH BIOPSY. Your doctor mad a BIG MISTAKE!

                • May 28, 2014 at 5:34 pm
                killmel
                Participant

                  Ditto Janner  you shoulld have had a PUNCH BIOPSY. Your doctor mad a BIG MISTAKE!

                  • May 29, 2014 at 5:19 pm
                  ray39
                  Participant

                    I don't know that it was changing. I know it was light brownish.  And the black spots are going away as the wound heals.  I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with this anxiety.  Everything hurts.   Probably because of the extreme stress I'm put myself under for a month.  Is today Thursday? I don't even know what day it is.  It's just another day of worry.  And another day of unknown. 

                    • May 29, 2014 at 5:19 pm
                    ray39
                    Participant

                      I don't know that it was changing. I know it was light brownish.  And the black spots are going away as the wound heals.  I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with this anxiety.  Everything hurts.   Probably because of the extreme stress I'm put myself under for a month.  Is today Thursday? I don't even know what day it is.  It's just another day of worry.  And another day of unknown. 

                      • May 29, 2014 at 5:19 pm
                      ray39
                      Participant

                        I don't know that it was changing. I know it was light brownish.  And the black spots are going away as the wound heals.  I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with this anxiety.  Everything hurts.   Probably because of the extreme stress I'm put myself under for a month.  Is today Thursday? I don't even know what day it is.  It's just another day of worry.  And another day of unknown. 

                      • May 28, 2014 at 4:51 pm
                      Janner
                      Participant

                        Relax.  The lines are most likely "blood" related.  And remember, it's just not that common to have more than one melanoma primary.  Was this mole CHANGING?  Was this mole different from every other mole?  Think of the WHOLE picture – you are looking for that ugly duckling.  Just having an atypical moles doesn't mean it would ever turn into melanoma – the vast majority never do.  I have pictures of all my moles.  If they change for the worst, they are biopsied.  Otherwise, they get to stick around.  I know most of my moles are atypical to some degree, but since they aren't changing, I'm not worrying about them!

                        BTW, I never do shaves on my moles.  Shaves do have the potential to leave the base of a lesion behind.  If I'm going to bother to have a biopsy, I have a punch.  Docs don't like them because they require stitches and more time.  But they basically are a full skin thickness biopsy which means "depth" – an important staging criteria – will not be compromised by the biopsy.  Since I don't biopsy without a very good reason (CHANGING so possible melanoma), I want the biopsy to be the best one for staging.

                        • May 28, 2014 at 4:51 pm
                        Janner
                        Participant

                          Relax.  The lines are most likely "blood" related.  And remember, it's just not that common to have more than one melanoma primary.  Was this mole CHANGING?  Was this mole different from every other mole?  Think of the WHOLE picture – you are looking for that ugly duckling.  Just having an atypical moles doesn't mean it would ever turn into melanoma – the vast majority never do.  I have pictures of all my moles.  If they change for the worst, they are biopsied.  Otherwise, they get to stick around.  I know most of my moles are atypical to some degree, but since they aren't changing, I'm not worrying about them!

                          BTW, I never do shaves on my moles.  Shaves do have the potential to leave the base of a lesion behind.  If I'm going to bother to have a biopsy, I have a punch.  Docs don't like them because they require stitches and more time.  But they basically are a full skin thickness biopsy which means "depth" – an important staging criteria – will not be compromised by the biopsy.  Since I don't biopsy without a very good reason (CHANGING so possible melanoma), I want the biopsy to be the best one for staging.

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