Jennp04

Hi Melissa,

My situation is very similar to yours. I went to the dermatologist a couple of weeks ago for an all over body check. I hadn't had one in 2 years and at that time they removed 2 atypical moles. Although I wanted an all over check, I was concerned about 2 spots in particular. One on my arm and one on my hip. They biopsied both.  The one on my arm was atypical and the one on my hip came back as melanoma – in situ.  Like you it terrified me. He explained that on a scale of stages 1-4, mine was a stage 0 because it was caught very early. Yesterday I went back for the removal. He drew a circle with a sharpie to tell me where the melanoma was. Then drew a much larger circle to show me how much he would remove to make sure he got it all and also went down to the muscle. They will send it to a pathologist for confirmation. What really scares me is that I have soooooo many moles – on my arms, back, some on my legs. And none of mine are perfect little light brown circles. I'm driving myself crazy now obsessing over "what if" I miss one and it spreads before I realize it. I read a thread on here where one guy had 42 removed!!  Oh, and like you, my doctor wants to see me every 3 months for the next 2 years. If our odds are not increased and they are sure they have removed it all, then why such a scheduled regiment like that?

Jenn

Hi Melissa,

My situation is very similar to yours. I went to the dermatologist a couple of weeks ago for an all over body check. I hadn't had one in 2 years and at that time they removed 2 atypical moles. Although I wanted an all over check, I was concerned about 2 spots in particular. One on my arm and one on my hip. They biopsied both.  The one on my arm was atypical and the one on my hip came back as melanoma – in situ.  Like you it terrified me. He explained that on a scale of stages 1-4, mine was a stage 0 because it was caught very early. Yesterday I went back for the removal. He drew a circle with a sharpie to tell me where the melanoma was. Then drew a much larger circle to show me how much he would remove to make sure he got it all and also went down to the muscle. They will send it to a pathologist for confirmation. What really scares me is that I have soooooo many moles – on my arms, back, some on my legs. And none of mine are perfect little light brown circles. I'm driving myself crazy now obsessing over "what if" I miss one and it spreads before I realize it. I read a thread on here where one guy had 42 removed!!  Oh, and like you, my doctor wants to see me every 3 months for the next 2 years. If our odds are not increased and they are sure they have removed it all, then why such a scheduled regiment like that?

Jenn

Hi Melissa,

My situation is very similar to yours. I went to the dermatologist a couple of weeks ago for an all over body check. I hadn't had one in 2 years and at that time they removed 2 atypical moles. Although I wanted an all over check, I was concerned about 2 spots in particular. One on my arm and one on my hip. They biopsied both.  The one on my arm was atypical and the one on my hip came back as melanoma – in situ.  Like you it terrified me. He explained that on a scale of stages 1-4, mine was a stage 0 because it was caught very early. Yesterday I went back for the removal. He drew a circle with a sharpie to tell me where the melanoma was. Then drew a much larger circle to show me how much he would remove to make sure he got it all and also went down to the muscle. They will send it to a pathologist for confirmation. What really scares me is that I have soooooo many moles – on my arms, back, some on my legs. And none of mine are perfect little light brown circles. I'm driving myself crazy now obsessing over "what if" I miss one and it spreads before I realize it. I read a thread on here where one guy had 42 removed!!  Oh, and like you, my doctor wants to see me every 3 months for the next 2 years. If our odds are not increased and they are sure they have removed it all, then why such a scheduled regiment like that?

Jenn