unicornsnow

This is just so frustrating.  I'm always the person that handles all of the medical stuff for my family.  Husband has diabetes, 19 year old with aspergers, and twin 11 year olds with autism and ADHD.  So I know my way around a medical office.  And normally I would have a report of whatever needs to be done or whatever.  But the dermatologist just called me on the phone with the results and gave me an appointment time with the surgeon.  And my online record for the dermatologist has not been updated to show exactly what the results are.  Hopefully I'll find out more from the surgeon.  But I hate being in the dark and not knowing everything.  How can I properly plan and prepare if I don't have all of the information???  🙁 

I'll be totally honest, I had no idea before this that there were different types of biopsies.  And I didn't even realize at the time that they were doing a shave biopsy.

So if they did a shave biopsy, then the tumor could actually be deeper than what they told me?  What is WLE?  

I really do apologize.  I am very new to this and looking stuff up on the internet doesn't help.  It just makes me even more scared.

I don't have my complete pathology report yet.  I'm supposed to get it when I see the surgeon next week.  Here is what is on my online medical record.

The patient has a known history of skin cancer: Atypia (CMN with Mod-Sev. Atypia of the Left Post. Shoulder, Excised on 1/19/17.). There is a reported history of cryosurgery for ISK. The patient reports extensive routine sun exposure and The patient reports a history of blistering sunburns (Grew up in Charleston, SC.). Area(s) of interest: complete body. The patient has new area(s) of concern: Left Upper Medial lower leg (Getting darker, 6mos.) Right lateral neck (raised, getting bigger, >2 yrs).

The notes I wrote down from the phone call with my doctor are.  Melanoma .7mm.  Need to have a wide excision and senitel lymph node biopsy.  I did notice when I was looking through my chart that they did a shave biopsy, and through my reading about this online, a shave biopsy isn't the best way to get a biopsy.  Is this true?

What are subcutaneous tumors?  There aren’t any bumps under the bruises. And the bruises are nowhere near where the melanoma is. But I’m still just so scared and worried.