Should I worry?
REGISTER
The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Content within the patient forum is user-generated and has not been reviewed by medical professionals. Other sections of the Melanoma Research Foundation website include information that has been reviewed by medical professionals as appropriate. All medical decisions should be made in consultation with your doctor or other qualified medical professional.

Should I worry?

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Should I worry?

  • Post
    • January 6, 2017 at 6:16 am
    Nemesis
    Participant

    My doctor told me they found more melanoma at my original bipsy site, but that they took it all out during the wide exicision. Should I be worried, is that a bad sign that it had spread deeper than the original given depth?

Viewing 8 reply threads
  • Replies
      • January 6, 2017 at 6:40 am
      Aloha14
      Participant

      How much time went by between the biopsy and the surgery? Not sure if it's a bad sign or not but happened to me also.The biopsy indicated 1.2 mm depth and 3 weeks later during the wide excision it was measured at 1.22 mm. I think the important part is that the wide excision was wide enough to get it all with the correct  clear margins. 

        • January 6, 2017 at 12:56 pm
        Nemesis
        Participant

        Two weeks between the biopsy and the exicision. SNB was clear, so I hope it wasn't that much of a problem.

        • January 6, 2017 at 12:56 pm
        Nemesis
        Participant

        Two weeks between the biopsy and the exicision. SNB was clear, so I hope it wasn't that much of a problem.

        • January 6, 2017 at 12:56 pm
        Nemesis
        Participant

        Two weeks between the biopsy and the exicision. SNB was clear, so I hope it wasn't that much of a problem.

      • January 6, 2017 at 6:40 am
      Aloha14
      Participant

      How much time went by between the biopsy and the surgery? Not sure if it's a bad sign or not but happened to me also.The biopsy indicated 1.2 mm depth and 3 weeks later during the wide excision it was measured at 1.22 mm. I think the important part is that the wide excision was wide enough to get it all with the correct  clear margins. 

      • January 6, 2017 at 6:40 am
      Aloha14
      Participant

      How much time went by between the biopsy and the surgery? Not sure if it's a bad sign or not but happened to me also.The biopsy indicated 1.2 mm depth and 3 weeks later during the wide excision it was measured at 1.22 mm. I think the important part is that the wide excision was wide enough to get it all with the correct  clear margins. 

      • January 6, 2017 at 12:38 pm
      maperny
      Participant

      Would have thought this pretty common as the goal in the original biopsy is not necessarily to get it all as it is not even clear it is melanoma at that point.  The WLE is done pr cisely to clear everything out.  My husband was 7mm in biopsy and 9mm in WLE, as you can see it was very deep.

      • January 6, 2017 at 12:38 pm
      maperny
      Participant

      Would have thought this pretty common as the goal in the original biopsy is not necessarily to get it all as it is not even clear it is melanoma at that point.  The WLE is done pr cisely to clear everything out.  My husband was 7mm in biopsy and 9mm in WLE, as you can see it was very deep.

      • January 6, 2017 at 12:38 pm
      maperny
      Participant

      Would have thought this pretty common as the goal in the original biopsy is not necessarily to get it all as it is not even clear it is melanoma at that point.  The WLE is done pr cisely to clear everything out.  My husband was 7mm in biopsy and 9mm in WLE, as you can see it was very deep.

      • January 6, 2017 at 1:57 pm
      Janner
      Participant

      Did the pathology say the melanoma was at the deep margin or the side margin?  It's not uncommon to find it at a side margin because the biopsy if typically very limited in how much extra tissue it takes on the sides.  It seems you said the deep margin was clear originally?  Either way, it the scheme of things it doesn't matter.  You have the WLE to precisely get wide margins.  As long as the melanoma wasn't close to the WLE margins, you're good.  Timing rarely matters either, it has been studied.  Your SNB was clear and that is a biggest telling factor.

      • January 6, 2017 at 1:57 pm
      Janner
      Participant

      Did the pathology say the melanoma was at the deep margin or the side margin?  It's not uncommon to find it at a side margin because the biopsy if typically very limited in how much extra tissue it takes on the sides.  It seems you said the deep margin was clear originally?  Either way, it the scheme of things it doesn't matter.  You have the WLE to precisely get wide margins.  As long as the melanoma wasn't close to the WLE margins, you're good.  Timing rarely matters either, it has been studied.  Your SNB was clear and that is a biggest telling factor.

      • January 6, 2017 at 1:57 pm
      Janner
      Participant

      Did the pathology say the melanoma was at the deep margin or the side margin?  It's not uncommon to find it at a side margin because the biopsy if typically very limited in how much extra tissue it takes on the sides.  It seems you said the deep margin was clear originally?  Either way, it the scheme of things it doesn't matter.  You have the WLE to precisely get wide margins.  As long as the melanoma wasn't close to the WLE margins, you're good.  Timing rarely matters either, it has been studied.  Your SNB was clear and that is a biggest telling factor.

Viewing 8 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
About the MRF Patient Forum

The MRF Patient Forum is the oldest and largest online community of people affected by melanoma. It is designed to provide peer support and information to caregivers, patients, family and friends. There is no better place to discuss different parts of your journey with this cancer and find the friends and support resources to make that journey more bearable.

The information on the forum is open and accessible to everyone. To add a new topic or to post a reply, you must be a registered user. Please note that you will be able to post both topics and replies anonymously even though you are logged in. All posts must abide by MRF posting policies.

Popular Topics