kelleyftn

I was diagnosed in September with a Stage 1A mel (Breslow .5, no mitosis, Clark level III, no regression, no ulceration). I have lots of moles and like you, they're all different. I've had over 20 removed and most of them have been dysplastic to some degree. I wanted to be proactive so I can keep an eye on things myself as in all honesty I don't totally trust my doctor to identify a suspiscious mole (my gynecologist noticed my melanoma, not my dermatologist who I had seen probably 4 times in the months leading up to my diagnosis).  I found a company, called Digital Derm, that does mole mapping photographs.  My doctor gave me a referral but you don't need one. Digital Derm is out of South Carolina but they're at Emory in Atlanta twice a month. It costs around $400.00. I know at Stage 1A, my prognosis is very good, but at the same time, after reading so many stories about people who progressed from Stage 1A to Stage IV I still worry. I now have pictures of every area of my body and can refer to them if I think something has changed. Last month, I did have a mole that had darkened with a dark red circle underneath it and upon looking at the pictures got very concerned. It was removed (1st just a biopsy, but then a full excision as the pathologist said he couldn't 100% rule out melanoma), and thankfully it turned out to be a traumatized nevus (I had gone hiking and it apparently irritated this mole). If you don't live anywhere near the southeast, I'm sure there are other companies that must do this around the country.

I was diagnosed in September with a Stage 1A mel (Breslow .5, no mitosis, Clark level III, no regression, no ulceration). I have lots of moles and like you, they're all different. I've had over 20 removed and most of them have been dysplastic to some degree. I wanted to be proactive so I can keep an eye on things myself as in all honesty I don't totally trust my doctor to identify a suspiscious mole (my gynecologist noticed my melanoma, not my dermatologist who I had seen probably 4 times in the months leading up to my diagnosis).  I found a company, called Digital Derm, that does mole mapping photographs.  My doctor gave me a referral but you don't need one. Digital Derm is out of South Carolina but they're at Emory in Atlanta twice a month. It costs around $400.00. I know at Stage 1A, my prognosis is very good, but at the same time, after reading so many stories about people who progressed from Stage 1A to Stage IV I still worry. I now have pictures of every area of my body and can refer to them if I think something has changed. Last month, I did have a mole that had darkened with a dark red circle underneath it and upon looking at the pictures got very concerned. It was removed (1st just a biopsy, but then a full excision as the pathologist said he couldn't 100% rule out melanoma), and thankfully it turned out to be a traumatized nevus (I had gone hiking and it apparently irritated this mole). If you don't live anywhere near the southeast, I'm sure there are other companies that must do this around the country.

I was diagnosed in September with a Stage 1A mel (Breslow .5, no mitosis, Clark level III, no regression, no ulceration). I have lots of moles and like you, they're all different. I've had over 20 removed and most of them have been dysplastic to some degree. I wanted to be proactive so I can keep an eye on things myself as in all honesty I don't totally trust my doctor to identify a suspiscious mole (my gynecologist noticed my melanoma, not my dermatologist who I had seen probably 4 times in the months leading up to my diagnosis).  I found a company, called Digital Derm, that does mole mapping photographs.  My doctor gave me a referral but you don't need one. Digital Derm is out of South Carolina but they're at Emory in Atlanta twice a month. It costs around $400.00. I know at Stage 1A, my prognosis is very good, but at the same time, after reading so many stories about people who progressed from Stage 1A to Stage IV I still worry. I now have pictures of every area of my body and can refer to them if I think something has changed. Last month, I did have a mole that had darkened with a dark red circle underneath it and upon looking at the pictures got very concerned. It was removed (1st just a biopsy, but then a full excision as the pathologist said he couldn't 100% rule out melanoma), and thankfully it turned out to be a traumatized nevus (I had gone hiking and it apparently irritated this mole). If you don't live anywhere near the southeast, I'm sure there are other companies that must do this around the country.

I understand what you're going through…my dermatologist said any pictures will work.  Just take them in good lighting.  

I understand what you're going through…my dermatologist said any pictures will work.  Just take them in good lighting.  

I understand what you're going through…my dermatologist said any pictures will work.  Just take them in good lighting.