I am a woman in my 60s and was diagnosed about 6 years ago with a Clark's level 11 melanoma on my forearm (Breslow .25mm – no more info.) that my husband insisted I have checked. Had WLE and was told to come back yearly. I really never gave it another thought, and certainly never expected to have another one. A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with one melanoma in situ on my lower leg, and a severely atypical mole on my upper arm. I had WLE on each.
I am a woman in my 60s and was diagnosed about 6 years ago with a Clark's level 11 melanoma on my forearm (Breslow .25mm – no more info.) that my husband insisted I have checked. Had WLE and was told to come back yearly. I really never gave it another thought, and certainly never expected to have another one. A few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with one melanoma in situ on my lower leg, and a severely atypical mole on my upper arm. I had WLE on each. My current dermatologist said I will need to be vigilant with self-exam, because the mole that turned out to be melanoma in situ did not look at all suspicious to her. She biopsied it because I asked her to. She is very supportive of my finding a good melanoma clinic and also seeing her at 3 month intervals. Most convenient would be Pittsburgh (Hillman?), Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington, but I would also consider Chicago or Minneapolis. I am looking for a center in which monitoring for new primaries via total body photography is a focus. It has been hard to find information about this because centers are emphasizing their expertise in detecting and treating metasasized melanomas. I would of course value their expertise in these areas as well, because I hope to have a long-term relationship with the center I choose, and realize I may be in a position to need those services in the future. For now, though, my focus is on catching any new ones at an early stage, and I have no confidence in my ability to do this on my own. I am hoping that one of you may know something about centers in these cities, and give me a place to start at least. I've been impressed with the level of expertise and plain old wisdon on this board. Thanks for your help!
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