Question:
I'm an old poster now mostly lurker here. I am asking for some very
specific advice from people who have had melanoma and survived
relatively unscathed, or who know someone who has.
I went to the doc yesterday to take a look at a suspicious protruding
mole. I've had it all my life, but it has become a bit painful and
developed some black spots in it. The doc said he is fairly confident
it is not cancer, as it looks uniform and not overly suspicious. He
said the black spots could just be from blood vessel trauma, or they
could be "altered melanocytes" (and yes, I know what that means, he
didn't want to say cancer) but he didn't think it was cancer. He has
referred me to a dermatologist to get the thing removed "just for my
peace of mind."
Problem is, I want the thing checked out. If they're going to take it
off anyway, I want them to examine it. (I still have to work out the
details to make sure OHIP will cover this, but that is another story -
they don't cover cosmetic mole removals.) But, my appointment is not
for another month. I have a month to sit around worrying about this.
What I'm specifically looking for is some answers to some questions. I
should specify that I have pretty much every single risk factor for
skin cancer, many of which are my own fault, so it would not be a
complete surprise if I developed some type of it in my life. There
have been a lot of horror stories about melanoma in the news, and I
want to know just how true they are. I also want to emphasize that I
do not know for sure if I have cancer. I'm hoping I can get the
dermatologist to check it out thoroughly rather than just hacking it
off and throwing it out "for my peace of mind."
- How likely is it that a tiny pigmentation change in an existing
protruding mole could indicate melanoma?
- If it is cancer, is it most likely melanoma since it is developing
on a pigmented area (as I have assumed,) or is there a chance it could
be one of the less threatening skin cancers?
- Could this just be growing and shedding skin (some of the black
stuff flaked off)?
- Based on my description of this thing, does it sound like I would
have caught it early enough?
- How fast does this really spread anyway - I have heard melanoma is
the fastest spreading of the skin cancers, but just what do they mean
when they say "fast"? Am I OK, having to wait a month?
- I know you can die from this. The news seems to suggest melanoma is
a certain death sentence. Can anyone refute this? Has anyone survived
this without lengthy horrible treatments? If it hasn't spread, can
they just cut it off and be done with it?
Thank you to anyone who has knowledge about these questions and can
respond.
I also have a somewhat unusual request. If you don't have answers to
my questions and simply want to express sympathy or support, please
don't, at least not now. I am trying to keep this thing off my mind as
much as possible, and floods of cyberhugs and sympathy will not help
that. I recognize your good intentions, but I'm asking you to please
not answer or email unless you can give me some factual answers to my
questions.
(Yes, I realize that asking people in a support group to withhold
support is unusual, and that some people might wonder why I bothered
to post here at all if I didn't want support. I posted because I know
there are cancer survivors here, and I'm not comfortable going into a
cancer group where I know no one and posting there when most of them
are going through much worse things than a little mole. I also realize
that if the worst happens and this does turn out to be cancer, I'll
probably be more than willing to accept cyberhugs and sympathy - but
not now. Now, I need to stay logical.)
Answer:
Last summer, my neighbor had a suspicious mole removed from her foot. It was
melonoma. She did not have to undergo any therapy but did have her lymph nodes
removed in that leg. There also seemed to be a lag time between being told it
was cancer and the surgery.
I am not sure if all skin cancers fall under the melonoma catagory. I would
guess not. Living where I do, lots of people have skin growths removed that
were diagnosed as cancerous. None that I know of have died and its been over 10
years for some of them. One had to under go radiation therapy but that was 5
years ago and he is still kicking.
I am not sure where you reside, but in the US they would have to send the
growth to pathology, otherwise it is malpractise.
If I were you, I would bitch and complain and have the date moved up and then
demand that they biopsy it. (I would be surprised if they didn't biopsy it).
I know it is difficult to be aggressive when you are faced with this sort of
thing. It helps if you have someone who can do it for you. Another friend had a
very abnormal pap and was scheduled for a month down the line. She told a
doctor friend of hers who acted on her behalf and called the other doc and had
it moved up. Is there anyone you know who could do this for you?
You have asked a number of very serious questions. Your doctor has the duty to
answer them.
I ran across a website where doctors at a large medical center answered
questions. I will try to find it again and email you the address.
