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Raise your hand if you've had a melanoma in situ (or very early)
I had a mole removed a and it has come back as stage 0 Melanoma in situ. So it was cancer, but it was in its place and has been removed along with a Wide Local Incision of surrounding skin and tissue that came back clear/without melanoma. I am according to my derm "cancer free" from the simple surgery and that it was a very, very early find of this mole leaving me with a great prognosis. I am however, still very shaken up and scared and having trouble not worrying about it. I don't know anyone else IRL who has gone through this and I would love to hear from others in this situation and how you deal with the stress and worry of future health concerns. I talked to someone on here a while back about this and she went through something similar but I can't remember her name...
If anyone has any experience with very early stage melanoma I would love to hear from you....
Thanks
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Re: Raise your hand if you've had a melanoma in situ (or very early)
I had the same thing 3 years ago. My situation is very similar. I had a mole removed...melanoma, went back a and had a very large probably 3" x 1" incision removed and I am cancer free. I did skin checks every 3 months for a year, then every 6 months for the rest of my life (although I had skin checks every 6 months prior to having the melanoma.) My dad also had the same thing in his early 30's, one and only time he had any problems.
I am still very paranoid about my moles. I often go in aside from my 6 month appointments to have moles looked at. I have had several removed since, I think one was precancerous the rest were normal. My doctor is not really concerned just need to stay on top of things. I am suppose to really limit my sun exposure and also wear clothing to cover myself as much as possible.
Our pediatrician also wants my kids in for skin checks once a year as a precaution.
Feel free to PM or page me if you want to talk more or have any more questions about my experiences.
I had a pretty similar experience about 2.5 years ago... not sure how much skin around the original mole was removed in surgery, but the scar on my shoulder is about 3 inches long. I've had no suspicious moles since that incident, and while I'm not necessarily totally paranoid, I am keenly aware of my increased odds for recurrence (hence my psychotic obsession with sunscressn) and have also become aware of the possible link between melanoma and breast cancer. THAT freaks me out. My best friend is currently battling stage IV breast cancer, and her experience makes my melanoma experience look like a walk in the park... chemo, radiation, hair loss, nausea... I experience NONE of that, even though I had cancer.
ETA: Just realized it was me who chatted with you! So glad to hear your surgery went well.
Thanks for your posts. Glendi, it was you I spoke with and you helped me so much. Erica, I know what you mean about the paranoia about moles.
I'm wondering if either of you have any tips for stopping the worry. I just had my appointment a week ago where they finally confirmed that my mole was melanoma in situ and I feel like I will never stop worrying about this. I live in Canada and it is so difficult to get into a dermatologist here...we have such a shortfall of them . It is recommended that I have full skin checks every 6 months but the derm (who I saw here and who is awesome) cant see me until almost 12 months. They recommend that my family doctor do the screening in between. I am not comfortable with that as he is not a skin specialist so I am looking at going to a clinic at the University of Michigan (they see Canadians who will just pay upfront.)
I think once I have that appointment set up and get screened again I will feel better, I just am really fighting the anxiety right now...
thanks for your responses and I am glad to hear you are both melanoma free!!!
This will sound a bit ridiculous to anyone lurking and not in the situation, but I took pictures of my moles and I have a ton. That way if I think one has changed I can reference my pictures before totally freaking out. I guess the health system is different here, but with my doc who removed the melanoma I could get in almost immediately. We have since moved, but my new derm. knows my history and has so far gotten me in, in a very timely manner. It seems to go in phases for me. One month I will think I have 5 different moles that are changing, then I won't really think about it for another few months.
I am very diligent about sunblock to the point that my MIL and mother are afraid to sunblock my kids thinking they might not do it right, but it hits very close to home for me. If I can somehow prevent this for them I want to.
I had a .5 mm melanoma removed from my leg 5 years ago. So, slightly worse than in situ but still very thin, and so unlikely to have spread that the only treatment was the wide excision. It was very scary at first, and I did a lot of googling and looking at melanoma message boards (which I don't necessarily recommend, since they tend to be frequented by people with a much worse prognosis). After the initial flurry of information, I calmed down about it. I do go to the dermatologist about every 6 months and keep a close eye on all of my moles.
That's wonderful that you caught it so early!
I had a melanoma in situ diagnosed 2 weeks ago, 3 days later I had it completely removed. I have moles ALL over my body and several look suspicious so the dr suggested that I come weekly to do 2 biopsies at a time, since that's what the insurance will cover...does anyone else have many many small suspicous-looking moles? I have a 2 and a half year old and I am so nervous about not finding a melanoma until it has already spread!!!!! I am so paranoid now that I am scared to go outside in the sun, go swimming, etc, even though I normally LOVE doing that...thoughts??
Thanks!
My sis is a nurse that works at a derm office that deals with this A.LOT! And she was a big tanner when she was younger...she had one located in the waterline (is that what its called?) of her lower eyelid...she asked the doc she works for to look at it and the doc had it removed the next day. It was also melanoma...(she's in her 20's)
Anyways...my sis is big one checking moles/spots. I have SOO many freckles, I have a hard time knowing what I'm looking at, so I also do the pictures of the ones I'm not sure about....and I circle with a pen the ones I want the doc to double check before I go so I don't forget about any of them.