› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › new mole
- This topic has 10 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 10 months ago by
momsmole.
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- July 4, 2017 at 1:23 pm
Hi! I'm new to the board. Last year I had a mole removed from the back of my shoulder. It had been with me all of my life. My mom had had one just like it in the same spot on her shoulder. It had never bothered me until a few years ago when it started to itch and bleed a little. I put off having it checked.
When I finally did have it removed, I never expected to find out it was malignant superficial spreading melanoma. Within a few weeks, I was in the hospital having a wide excision with sentinel node biopsy. Four lymph nodes were removed and the doctor told me to find a dermatologist and oncologist and have check-ups every 3 months. I didn't. But I felt a lump there six months later and when back to my surgeon who did a punch biopsy and there was no problem. He said "we'll call this your six month follow up". He then encouraged me to get with it.
I didn't.
Last month I saw my cardiologist. I hadn't seen her since before the cancer so I updated her on it. She put down what she was doing and told me off in no uncertain terms. "Melanoma is nothing to fool around with," she said sternly. She actually scared me more than the surgeon had. I guess I thought, despite all the scary stories I had read, that I had dodged the bullet, and wasn't all that worried about it. So I came home and started worrying, but didn't do anything about it.
Then I had my teeth cleaned. A week later I noticed a small mole in the inner right corner of my lower lip. I knew it was brand new because it hadn't been there or the hygientist or dentist would have mentioned it at the time. And it wasn't a bruise. The inside of the lip seemed like an odd place to have a melanoma. That's what made me call the dermatologist. I still don't know if I should have called the surgeon or the oncologist first. Since I'm a new patient for the dermatologist I can't get in until the end of August. In the past weeks there has been no change in the mole. I'm keeping a close eye on it.
I've also googled all kinds of stuff about oral cancer. Scary!! This isn't ulcerated so there isn't much I can find about moles. After all this exposition, I actually do have a question. Has anyone here had a mole on the inside of their lip? Have they had it excised? Was it melanoma? (I hope not!). But if so, what happened? Thanks for listening and I appreciate any info you can give me.
I'm grateful for this place. My family had a hard time taking my melanoma seriously. My husband was scared and supportive and so was my therapist but everybody seemed to think it was "just" like having a wart removed and I was over-reacting. I didn't want them to think I was a drama queen which is probably why I was lazy about following up.
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- July 4, 2017 at 3:06 pm
hi, thank u for sharing. In our situation it is hard to say welcome aboard . . . I worder to things: what was your initial MM stage? and why you so easely assume the mole in mouth was MM? Pls have it biopcied, don't postpone.
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- July 4, 2017 at 7:51 pm
THank you too for reading my long post. My friends tease me about my epic texts. LOL. I'm sorry to hear about your son. I'm sure melanoma on his tongue would be totally unexpected. I hope he is doing well. I will get it checked. I'm just wondering now if dermatologist is best person to see. I could probably see the surgeon sooner.
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- July 4, 2017 at 7:48 pm
THanks for taking time to read my long post! And thanks for the welcome. Even tho it's a tough subject, it's good to feel welcomed. My initial staging was 2a. I think I assume my lip mole is MM because it appeared out of nowhere and it's in a place that's hard to sunburn and I'm quite scared of a recurrence. Would a dermatologist biopsy it or should I get in sooner with the general surgeon who biopsied the original mole?
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- July 4, 2017 at 8:04 pm
My sister had nelanoma 12 years ago, 3 or 4 years later she developed a mole on her lower lip (looked like a large, relatively dark freckle). It is not melanoma, but did require special laser treatment. She has had 2 more moles on her lip since, both of which requiring laser treatment. She has not had any more melanoma.
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- July 4, 2017 at 9:07 pm
On quarterly checks, I see my dermatologist every 6 months for a full body check and surgical oncologist every 6 months, "at 90 degrees rotation", such that I am seeing someone every three months.
These are very different check ups, since the surgeon focuses on potential recurrence at / near prior surgical sites, and palpates accessible lymph nodes.
The dermatologist does a full head to toe, and generally finds 1-3 atypical nevi which are biopsied, usually resulting in one WLE each of these last several years.
While I'm beginning to look like a baseball, I'm grateful for the aggressive stance both doctors are taking.
Get on a quarterly schedule, and if anything is "on the bubble", I.e., not affirmatively benign, get rid of it asap.
Best of success in your efforts to hold the line at stage 2.
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- July 5, 2017 at 8:41 pm
Thank you for responding. I appreciate all the information. That's a great schedule to be seen every six months by each specialist. I understand better why I need to see both a surgeon and a dermatologist. I'm sure it must be a challenge having something removed twice a year but also a relief knowing the nevi are gone. I think aggressive is better, even tho I've been passive out of fear. My husband always says knowing the worst is better than not knowing. But the cardiologist did not take this view!! I owe her a big thank you! I've decided I'm going to call a plastic surgeon who helped me with a problem about 10 years ago because this is on my lip. It's funny that I have lots of surgical scars that I don't care about, including some 2nd degree burns from blisters on my cheek, but I'd prefer not to have a mangled lip. Because I was a patient of his, I may be able to get in sooner.
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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