Hopeful19

I had a melanoma in Situ removed 2 1/2 weeks ago from my nose. I understand that you are scared. That is a normal feeling for this diagnosis. But you have an appointment at a good place already scheduled. I would encourage you to have your medical records and pathology reports (not the summary) forwarded to your doctor at MD Anderson and also get a copy for your own records. Have a list of questions for your doctor. My husband accompanied me to my appointments because sometimes two sets of ears are better than one. I have found this to be a very supportive forum and people will help you here. Just hang in there….you are taking all the right steps and that is all you can do at this point . Take a deep breath and carry on…you are doing great!
Been there and just did that….

I had a melanoma in Situ removed 2 1/2 weeks ago from my nose. I understand that you are scared. That is a normal feeling for this diagnosis. But you have an appointment at a good place already scheduled. I would encourage you to have your medical records and pathology reports (not the summary) forwarded to your doctor at MD Anderson and also get a copy for your own records. Have a list of questions for your doctor. My husband accompanied me to my appointments because sometimes two sets of ears are better than one. I have found this to be a very supportive forum and people will help you here. Just hang in there….you are taking all the right steps and that is all you can do at this point . Take a deep breath and carry on…you are doing great!
Been there and just did that….

I have been through this anxiety recently so I hope my experience will help you. I don’t know where you live but most states allow you to get your medical records. That being said, you may have to sign some papers to get them released but it’s worth the effort to do so. In my case, my second doctor released the pathology report to me in my online medical chart. I went to a more cosmetic dermatologist first and when I saw the pathology summary from them, I went to get a second opinion. at a dermatologist connected with a medical school. I don’t know if that is a possibility for you. You probably got a medical summary from your doctor. . Mine said. MALIGNANT MELANOMA in huge block letters then insitu which means it wasn’t invasive yet. So I thought I had plenty of time. The final biopsy result showed the snarky melanocytes were showing pagetoid movement and were very close to crossing the dermis. I had my surgery August 28. In conclusion, you do have a right to your records but you might have to push to get them. Make sure you are seeing a dermatologist surgeon who does
surgeries a lot and is current on any new treatments. I also know that I am not a histopathologist and I couldn’t truly understand the pathology report even with Wikipedia’s help! Also there is discussion about punch vs. shave biopsy so you may ask about that. I am still recovering but I am glad that I got a second opinion, went ahead with a bilobed Mohs surgery on my nose and I am recovering fairly well. I am glad I went with more of a true medical system so that if I needed more treatments tha I was already into the medical system.
I hope this helps. Good luck to you!

moving in that direction.

Hi, Timothy! So I had a biopsy done on July 18, 2019 and the results were given to me over the phone about one week later by a private clinic in NorCal. I wanted a second opinion so I went to Stanford Redwood City Clinic.
I saw a dermatologist who specializes in Mohs Surgery . It took about one week for Stanford to get the slides and then about ten days for them to read the slides. That being said, a consensus committee of four histopathologists read my biopsy slides and agreed with the diagnosis of melanoma inSitu. My melanoma is on my nose which is a lousy location so I wanted another set of eyes and I ended up getting 4 sets!
I don’t know the location nor the size of your melanoma. Maybe you could ask the nurse practitioner where they are sending the slides for confirmation? Maybe that information would help you. And perhaps a group of docs will examine your slides too. I am having my surgery this Wednesday. I am dreading it but I know I made the right decision. Go ahead and ask your current team your questions & concerns. I hope my story
helps you. Good luck to you!

I am facing the same situation with a melanoma in Situ on my left nostril. I had two tiny brown spots that re-appeared after being “frozen” off twice more than 5 years ago. There was no sign of cancer then.I am having a difficult time dealing with the images of the surgery, the length of time required for recovery, etc. I want to try the imiquioid cream instead of the surgery. I am 62 so not a young person with children to raise. I had a shave biopsy and the pathology report doesn’t say how deep the melanocytes were found but that they are pleomorphic and atypical. I am having a hard time understanding why not try this drug first and if it doesn’t work, then have the surgery performed. From the limited reading I have done, it sounds like this is slow growing. I am assuming I have a lentigo maligna as the diagnosis was malignant melanoma D03.39.
What did you finally decide to do? Thank you for your response.