Carrie
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Carrie

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      • March 15, 2011 at 10:15 am
      Carrie
      Participant

      My mom and sister both have multiple primary melanomas (my mom has had 4, my sister 2).  My sister and I both have atypical mole syndrome (I've lost count how many atypical moles my sister has had removed).  I've had 4 atypical moles removed and countless biopsies, no melanoma yet. 

      With that being said, all three of us just take it in stride.  There is nothing that we can do about our situation, except skin checks on our own and seeing our dermatologists regularly .  Right now, all three of us go every six months (unless we find something questionable, then we make an earlier appointment).  I admit, I can be a little fanatical about checking my moles for change at times, but I think that's par for the course 🙂

      Carrie

      mom stage IIIB (4 primaries)

      sister stage IA (2 primaries)

      • March 15, 2011 at 10:15 am
      Carrie
      Participant

      My mom and sister both have multiple primary melanomas (my mom has had 4, my sister 2).  My sister and I both have atypical mole syndrome (I've lost count how many atypical moles my sister has had removed).  I've had 4 atypical moles removed and countless biopsies, no melanoma yet. 

      With that being said, all three of us just take it in stride.  There is nothing that we can do about our situation, except skin checks on our own and seeing our dermatologists regularly .  Right now, all three of us go every six months (unless we find something questionable, then we make an earlier appointment).  I admit, I can be a little fanatical about checking my moles for change at times, but I think that's par for the course 🙂

      Carrie

      mom stage IIIB (4 primaries)

      sister stage IA (2 primaries)

      • December 2, 2010 at 11:07 am
      Carrie
      Participant

      My mom (who is stage IIIB) had a spot show up on her liver a couple of years ago after a year of clean scans.  Her oncologist was originally going to do a needle biopsy, but the lesion was in a bad spot, so they opted for surgery instead.  The lesion ended up being benign!  I think it was a hemangioma, if I'm not mistaken.  Good luck and keep us posted.

      Carrie

      Mom stage IIIB (4 melanoma primaries, intransit mets)

      Sister stage IA (2 melanoma primaries)

      • December 2, 2010 at 11:07 am
      Carrie
      Participant

      My mom (who is stage IIIB) had a spot show up on her liver a couple of years ago after a year of clean scans.  Her oncologist was originally going to do a needle biopsy, but the lesion was in a bad spot, so they opted for surgery instead.  The lesion ended up being benign!  I think it was a hemangioma, if I'm not mistaken.  Good luck and keep us posted.

      Carrie

      Mom stage IIIB (4 melanoma primaries, intransit mets)

      Sister stage IA (2 melanoma primaries)

      • November 17, 2010 at 2:45 pm
      Carrie
      Participant

      Mark,

      I wish I could take credit for getting this mole removed…I have so many moles and lots of funny-looking ones.  I've never liked the way this particular mole looked, but there were others each time I went to the derm that looked more omnious.  When I went to my appointment last week, my regular derm had a family emergency and had to leave work, so they put me in with a different derm.  She immediately clued into the mole in question and removed it.  I think it was by the grace of God that I had that appointment with the new derm because my regular derm has never expressed concern over that mole.

      I agree that some good has come out of my mom's diagnosis of melanoma.  If she had not been diagnosed with melanoma, I guarantee my sister would still be walking around with those moles on her that were melanoma.  It was my mom's diagnosis that scared her enough to have hers removed.  Fortunately, hers were staged at IA. 

      Good luck with everything with you!  I've been keeping up with your journey since you've been posting.  Keep us updated.

      Carrie

      • November 17, 2010 at 2:45 pm
      Carrie
      Participant

      Mark,

      I wish I could take credit for getting this mole removed…I have so many moles and lots of funny-looking ones.  I've never liked the way this particular mole looked, but there were others each time I went to the derm that looked more omnious.  When I went to my appointment last week, my regular derm had a family emergency and had to leave work, so they put me in with a different derm.  She immediately clued into the mole in question and removed it.  I think it was by the grace of God that I had that appointment with the new derm because my regular derm has never expressed concern over that mole.

      I agree that some good has come out of my mom's diagnosis of melanoma.  If she had not been diagnosed with melanoma, I guarantee my sister would still be walking around with those moles on her that were melanoma.  It was my mom's diagnosis that scared her enough to have hers removed.  Fortunately, hers were staged at IA. 

      Good luck with everything with you!  I've been keeping up with your journey since you've been posting.  Keep us updated.

      Carrie

      • November 17, 2010 at 2:38 pm
      Carrie
      Participant

      I definitely agree with the clear margins.  When my derm called to discuss my biopsy results, I told her that there was no need to go conservative on the margins.  If she wanted to take more than protocol suggests, it's totally fine with me. 

      I will update everyone when I hear results from the margins and second opinion of the original path report!

      Thanks again Dian!

      • November 17, 2010 at 2:38 pm
      Carrie
      Participant

      I definitely agree with the clear margins.  When my derm called to discuss my biopsy results, I told her that there was no need to go conservative on the margins.  If she wanted to take more than protocol suggests, it's totally fine with me. 

      I will update everyone when I hear results from the margins and second opinion of the original path report!

      Thanks again Dian!

      • November 15, 2010 at 12:37 am
      Carrie
      Participant

      Thanks again Linda for your response.  I'll email Tim to get the name of that dermopathologist and see if he has any others that he would recommend. 

      I just want to make sure I get an accurate diagnosis.  I just feel like I can't be too cautious having 2 first degree relatives with multiple melanoma primaries. 

      Thanks again for your help!

      Carrie

      • November 15, 2010 at 12:37 am
      Carrie
      Participant

      Thanks again Linda for your response.  I'll email Tim to get the name of that dermopathologist and see if he has any others that he would recommend. 

      I just want to make sure I get an accurate diagnosis.  I just feel like I can't be too cautious having 2 first degree relatives with multiple melanoma primaries. 

      Thanks again for your help!

      Carrie

      • November 13, 2010 at 2:33 pm
      Carrie
      Participant

      Thanks Linda for your reply!  Yes, they are doing the re-excision next week.  The thing that confuses me is when my derm mentioned the findings from the pathologist about the mole having certain characteristics of melanoma.  I just want to make sure whatever the mole is (whether moderately atypical or melanoma) is properly diagnosed.  Are there any dermopathologists that you (or anyone else that's reading) could recommend? 

       

      Thanks again for your help!

      Carrie

      • November 13, 2010 at 2:33 pm
      Carrie
      Participant

      Thanks Linda for your reply!  Yes, they are doing the re-excision next week.  The thing that confuses me is when my derm mentioned the findings from the pathologist about the mole having certain characteristics of melanoma.  I just want to make sure whatever the mole is (whether moderately atypical or melanoma) is properly diagnosed.  Are there any dermopathologists that you (or anyone else that's reading) could recommend? 

       

      Thanks again for your help!

      Carrie

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