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If you have a history of melanoma at any stage and you call your dermatologist and tell them you're worried that a new spot might be melanoma, they should by all means work you in asap. My dermatologist's office is extremely busy and difficult to get an appointment with, but they understand how dangerous melanoma is and the importance of catching it early. I'm stage 1B (diagnosed a little over a year ago) and they work me in anytime I call and say I think I've found a new spot. You should consider finding a new dermatologist, or at the very least, call and tell them you're concerned about melanoma and insist they work you in. You must be your own advocate. 

I never rec'd a bill for it. But mine didn't have any material to run it on, supposedly. They still had to look at it to determine that, but they never billed me for it.

Hi KatieB,

How are you? I'm sorry for the delayed response! I hate that you don't get notifications when someone posts on your message. I used to check this blog religiously but I've gotten better about obessing over my melanoma, so I guess that's a good sign 🙂 I still regret that they weren't able to find enough material to run the test- I just feel like knowing would've put my mind at ease. Plus, I've always worried that they sent my wrong slide- that they sent my WLE slide and not my primary tumor slide. But, nothing I can do about that now… I'm happy to report that (knock on wood) I've not had any issues. I've had an MRI and 2 chest x-rays over the past 3 1/2 years (just to check for any abnormal signs) and so far, so good. Fingers crosssed, as always… How are you? Were you stage 1B as well?

Cecelia

Hi,

First, I'm surprised that your doctor would even send your tumor off to Castle for this- a melanoma of that size really doesn't warrant it from everything I've been told. Have you gotten the results from the genetic test yet? They couldn't run the test on my sample so I wasn't charged anything (my tumor was 0.8mm-> stage 1B, negative sentinel lymph node biopsy). But every time I asked my oncologist about the cost, he kind of brushed it off and couldn't give me an answer. Makes me wonder if the doctors get a commission or something for submitting patients for this test. You mentioned your margins being clear- that's different that what Castle's genetic test is for. 

Glad you caught yours so early. Be sure to keep up with your twice a year (at least) skin checks! 

Hi,

First, I'm surprised that your doctor would even send your tumor off to Castle for this- a melanoma of that size really doesn't warrant it from everything I've been told. Have you gotten the results from the genetic test yet? They couldn't run the test on my sample so I wasn't charged anything (my tumor was 0.8mm-> stage 1B, negative sentinel lymph node biopsy). But every time I asked my oncologist about the cost, he kind of brushed it off and couldn't give me an answer. Makes me wonder if the doctors get a commission or something for submitting patients for this test. You mentioned your margins being clear- that's different that what Castle's genetic test is for. 

Glad you caught yours so early. Be sure to keep up with your twice a year (at least) skin checks! 

Hi,

First, I'm surprised that your doctor would even send your tumor off to Castle for this- a melanoma of that size really doesn't warrant it from everything I've been told. Have you gotten the results from the genetic test yet? They couldn't run the test on my sample so I wasn't charged anything (my tumor was 0.8mm-> stage 1B, negative sentinel lymph node biopsy). But every time I asked my oncologist about the cost, he kind of brushed it off and couldn't give me an answer. Makes me wonder if the doctors get a commission or something for submitting patients for this test. You mentioned your margins being clear- that's different that what Castle's genetic test is for. 

Glad you caught yours so early. Be sure to keep up with your twice a year (at least) skin checks! 

Hi Mark,

I am so sorry I'm just now seeing your message from last June! I hate that we don't get emailed when someone replies to us on these boards; it's hard to keep track of where we've posted. Anyway, I hope you're doing well. Did you get your DecisionDx test results back? I hope the news was good. I was so disappointed when I learned they couldn't run the test on my tumor. I was hoping it would give me that extra bit of reassurance I need! As for my path report, I was 0.80 mm, no ulceration, and a mitotic index of "greater than 1 per mm squared." They didn't give me an exact number for it. My peripheral margins were "close but free" and deep margin was free. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes was "brisk." And as I mentioned, my slnb was negative. My surigical oncologist (who specializes in melanoma) removed 2 sentinel nodes and they were negative.  

I will continue to see my dermatologist every 3 months and my surgical oncologist yearly. I started having headaches last fall and mentioned this to him and he said we could do an MRI to rule anything out. I did, and everything was normal, so that's a relief. I think the way to live with this is just to be aware of your body and mention any changes you notice to your doctor (and make sure your doctors all know of your melanoma history). I've learned how important it is to be your own advocate. Doctors don't know everything and they certainly don't know your body better than you. Whenever I think something is wrong, I speak up (hence the MRI). I know I'm more paranoid than most, but better safe than sorry in my opinion. 

Cecelia

Hi Mark,

I am so sorry I'm just now seeing your message from last June! I hate that we don't get emailed when someone replies to us on these boards; it's hard to keep track of where we've posted. Anyway, I hope you're doing well. Did you get your DecisionDx test results back? I hope the news was good. I was so disappointed when I learned they couldn't run the test on my tumor. I was hoping it would give me that extra bit of reassurance I need! As for my path report, I was 0.80 mm, no ulceration, and a mitotic index of "greater than 1 per mm squared." They didn't give me an exact number for it. My peripheral margins were "close but free" and deep margin was free. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes was "brisk." And as I mentioned, my slnb was negative. My surigical oncologist (who specializes in melanoma) removed 2 sentinel nodes and they were negative.  

I will continue to see my dermatologist every 3 months and my surgical oncologist yearly. I started having headaches last fall and mentioned this to him and he said we could do an MRI to rule anything out. I did, and everything was normal, so that's a relief. I think the way to live with this is just to be aware of your body and mention any changes you notice to your doctor (and make sure your doctors all know of your melanoma history). I've learned how important it is to be your own advocate. Doctors don't know everything and they certainly don't know your body better than you. Whenever I think something is wrong, I speak up (hence the MRI). I know I'm more paranoid than most, but better safe than sorry in my opinion. 

Cecelia

Hi Mark,

I am so sorry I'm just now seeing your message from last June! I hate that we don't get emailed when someone replies to us on these boards; it's hard to keep track of where we've posted. Anyway, I hope you're doing well. Did you get your DecisionDx test results back? I hope the news was good. I was so disappointed when I learned they couldn't run the test on my tumor. I was hoping it would give me that extra bit of reassurance I need! As for my path report, I was 0.80 mm, no ulceration, and a mitotic index of "greater than 1 per mm squared." They didn't give me an exact number for it. My peripheral margins were "close but free" and deep margin was free. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes was "brisk." And as I mentioned, my slnb was negative. My surigical oncologist (who specializes in melanoma) removed 2 sentinel nodes and they were negative.  

I will continue to see my dermatologist every 3 months and my surgical oncologist yearly. I started having headaches last fall and mentioned this to him and he said we could do an MRI to rule anything out. I did, and everything was normal, so that's a relief. I think the way to live with this is just to be aware of your body and mention any changes you notice to your doctor (and make sure your doctors all know of your melanoma history). I've learned how important it is to be your own advocate. Doctors don't know everything and they certainly don't know your body better than you. Whenever I think something is wrong, I speak up (hence the MRI). I know I'm more paranoid than most, but better safe than sorry in my opinion. 

Cecelia