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Freaking Out! Please Help!!
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Freaking Out! Please Help!!

› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Freaking Out! Please Help!!

  • Post
    • June 18, 2018 at 5:16 am
    Susanlee528
    Participant

      I don’t  know if I’m being paranoid or if I have a reason to worry, but right on the scar from my WLE, pretty close to my original site, I found what looks to be a bad mole. I can’t see it myself because it’s on my back so I only have a picture to look at. I’m trying to figure out how to post a picture here but I don’t know how. If I figure it out I would appreciate any input I can get. I’m calling the doctor first thing in the morning but in the meantime I’m going to be scared all night! Can this even happen only 4 months after surgery?  Wouldn’t being on Opdivo help?

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        • June 20, 2018 at 12:57 am
        kcmtnbiker
        Participant

          From my personal experance, I did have some initial tumor growth, some new and some just got bigger, when I started on Opdivo. My Oncologist said that this was not abnormal. As I understood it, when your immuin system starts fighting the cancer it will surround the cancer cells and cause some apparant growth. This is a good thing as the additional cells that are causing the growth are attacking the cancer. I was several months into the Opdio treatments before I started noticing the various melanoma spots start to melt away. I was NED for a year as a result.

          • June 20, 2018 at 3:12 am
          aldrichdesigner
          Participant
            I don’t want to worry you more but my doc always told me the original site has a high likelihood of repeat primaries, so I have always watched my skin graft closely. Again, it can just as easily be benign, you won’t know until your Dermatologist looks and/or does a biopsy. Thats the only way to know for sure. No one is going to be a able to tell you from a picture and if they say they can then they are lying to you.

            As for growing moles while on opdivo, opdivo does not necessarily work for everyone. Again, not trying to scare you, I’m just being honest with you. Just stay calm and talk to your Dermatologist. If it is back, just look at it this way, you caught it quickly because of everything else.

              • June 21, 2018 at 12:45 am
              Susanlee528
              Participant

                 Thanks so much for the responses! I saw my dermatologist today. She felt that the spot I saw was a freckle or mole that got stretched out by the scar tissue. She wasn’t overly concerned, but she took a biopsy to be safe. I was very happy to have that done! I told her, feel free to take a chunk out of every mole on my body if you want! LOL.  So, I feel a little bit better but I won’t be able to relax until I get the results back. 

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