› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Dysplastic mole v. Melanoma
- This topic has 15 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by
Doro78.
- Post
-
- June 19, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Dear all, tomorrow afternoon I have an appointment at the dermatologist to receive the lab results of three moles that were removed last week. My dermatologist (and I) worry most about one, who, as she indicated looked 'at least very dysplastic'. But only a pathologist can tell. I will not bore you with the history, but in short it boils down to a GP who was reluctant to send me to a dermatologist and a dermatologist who saw no harm in my three 'odd' moles and wished to just follow them (taking pictures and measurements). But the last weeks/months they were really changing and growing quickly. And now I got an appointment with a different dermatologist as the one that I usually see was on vacation. She took one good look and agreed to remove all three the next day. In fact, she seemend unpleasantly surprised that her colleague had not yet removed the moles.
While waiting for the results to come back, I did some (terrifying!) Google research. Heart breaking stories… In view of the fact that doctors have left me hanging (at least that is what it feels like) for too long, I really do not trust anyone right now.
Therefore my questions: how hard is it for a pathologist to distinguish a dysplastic mole from a melanoma? I read somewhere that it is a sliding scale and that sometimes a melanoma is missed. How realistic is this? Is is advisable to ask a second opinion on pathology? Also, if it is 'just' a dysplastic mole, is it still advisable to take away the extra skin around the mole? And if it indeed is a melanoma, from what thickness onwards would you recommend a sentinel node procedure (I read somewhere as of 0.7 mm others say 1 mm)?
I know that most likely I can find opinions on either topic on this forum in the older posts. But for the moment, I feel a bit overwhelmed and although I am in search of information relating to my situation, I get really scared when confronted with people who are way ahead of me (though the fact that there are indeed long term stage iv survivors also gives me hope!). I would sincerely appreciate your answers.
Best,
Doro78
- Replies
-
-
- June 19, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Hello there!
Sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation. Crazy how something as seemingly innocent as a mole can affect your life and emotions. First piece of advice… though it's good to stay informed and understand the terminology and standard of care in dealing with a melanoma, Google is not a good place to be.
About this time last year, I had a ''severly atypical lesion, borderline, with a 'differential diagnosis' of level 2 stage T1A malignant melanoma''….. Right?! So is it melanoma or not? Sometimes the pathologists don't even know! But if they cannot 'rule it out', they will get a second opinion on their own, and/or treat it as a melanoma, and reexcise with margins. Howevever, most of the time, the pathology report will tell ALL. It'll tell the description, depth, level, mitosis rate (how fast the cells are dividing) and from there they will talk about lymph nodes, usually only if it's over 1mm, but depending the location, they may go with .7 or .8….
You expect to get the report back tomorrow? Please do share with us once you get it, but in the meantime, stay away from google, have yourself a stiff drink, and wait…
Hope this helps!
-
- June 19, 2014 at 4:05 pm
Thank you so much for this swift response. It is good to hear that they will proceed with care if there is doubt. I am not sure if I get a copy of the lab results, but I will ask. Indeed, I should stop Googling. And yes, I will get the stiff drink. I will get back tomorrow. Hopefully with good news!
-
- June 20, 2014 at 7:45 pm
You should ask and get a copy of ALL bloodwork, operation/excession patholoogy reports and later if melanoma is diagnosed copies of all scans on discs.
-
- June 20, 2014 at 7:45 pm
You should ask and get a copy of ALL bloodwork, operation/excession patholoogy reports and later if melanoma is diagnosed copies of all scans on discs.
-
- June 20, 2014 at 7:45 pm
You should ask and get a copy of ALL bloodwork, operation/excession patholoogy reports and later if melanoma is diagnosed copies of all scans on discs.
-
- June 20, 2014 at 7:45 pm
You should ask and get a copy of ALL bloodwork, operation/excession patholoogy reports and later if melanoma is diagnosed copies of all scans on discs.
-
- June 20, 2014 at 7:45 pm
You should ask and get a copy of ALL bloodwork, operation/excession patholoogy reports and later if melanoma is diagnosed copies of all scans on discs.
-
- June 20, 2014 at 7:45 pm
You should ask and get a copy of ALL bloodwork, operation/excession patholoogy reports and later if melanoma is diagnosed copies of all scans on discs.
-
- June 19, 2014 at 4:05 pm
Thank you so much for this swift response. It is good to hear that they will proceed with care if there is doubt. I am not sure if I get a copy of the lab results, but I will ask. Indeed, I should stop Googling. And yes, I will get the stiff drink. I will get back tomorrow. Hopefully with good news!
-
- June 19, 2014 at 4:05 pm
Thank you so much for this swift response. It is good to hear that they will proceed with care if there is doubt. I am not sure if I get a copy of the lab results, but I will ask. Indeed, I should stop Googling. And yes, I will get the stiff drink. I will get back tomorrow. Hopefully with good news!
-
- June 19, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Hello there!
Sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation. Crazy how something as seemingly innocent as a mole can affect your life and emotions. First piece of advice… though it's good to stay informed and understand the terminology and standard of care in dealing with a melanoma, Google is not a good place to be.
About this time last year, I had a ''severly atypical lesion, borderline, with a 'differential diagnosis' of level 2 stage T1A malignant melanoma''….. Right?! So is it melanoma or not? Sometimes the pathologists don't even know! But if they cannot 'rule it out', they will get a second opinion on their own, and/or treat it as a melanoma, and reexcise with margins. Howevever, most of the time, the pathology report will tell ALL. It'll tell the description, depth, level, mitosis rate (how fast the cells are dividing) and from there they will talk about lymph nodes, usually only if it's over 1mm, but depending the location, they may go with .7 or .8….
You expect to get the report back tomorrow? Please do share with us once you get it, but in the meantime, stay away from google, have yourself a stiff drink, and wait…
Hope this helps!
-
- June 19, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Hello there!
Sorry to hear of your unfortunate situation. Crazy how something as seemingly innocent as a mole can affect your life and emotions. First piece of advice… though it's good to stay informed and understand the terminology and standard of care in dealing with a melanoma, Google is not a good place to be.
About this time last year, I had a ''severly atypical lesion, borderline, with a 'differential diagnosis' of level 2 stage T1A malignant melanoma''….. Right?! So is it melanoma or not? Sometimes the pathologists don't even know! But if they cannot 'rule it out', they will get a second opinion on their own, and/or treat it as a melanoma, and reexcise with margins. Howevever, most of the time, the pathology report will tell ALL. It'll tell the description, depth, level, mitosis rate (how fast the cells are dividing) and from there they will talk about lymph nodes, usually only if it's over 1mm, but depending the location, they may go with .7 or .8….
You expect to get the report back tomorrow? Please do share with us once you get it, but in the meantime, stay away from google, have yourself a stiff drink, and wait…
Hope this helps!
-
Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.