› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Doctor staged cancer before surgery
- This topic has 2 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by kcmtnbiker.
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- July 12, 2018 at 5:09 am
Hello all! My husband was just diagnosed with both Melanoma and Basal Cell Carcinoma (in separate locations) He had his initial biopsy done and the pathology report said..
”The lesion extends to the inked lateral and deep edges of the specimen.
Diagnosis: Melanoma InSitu – T Classification. “
My question is.. how can the Dr say it is Melanoma InSitu when there were no clear margins on biopsy?! Can he make that determination before wide-excision surgery?
Thank you!
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- July 12, 2018 at 11:54 pm
My understanding of In Situ is that the Melanoma is confined to the epidermis. So my assumption would be that the sample provided to the Pathologist did not have any signs of melanoma deeper than the epidermis. This referance does not necessarly determine the width – how far it extends to the sides. That is what finding clear margins would indicate, rather it is in referance to the depth. A Melanoma that does not extend deeper the the epidermis is a good sign. Good Luck
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