@nicole
Forum Replies Created
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- January 9, 2013 at 2:27 am
Hello, My daughter Ella had a spitz nevus removed when she was 3 (3 years ago). (She also had a large dysplastic nevus removed shortly after) This was quite frightning for me, as her dad passed away from melanoma about a year prior to that. Some of the stories on here can be so scary, so I just want to let you know that my daughters stayed the same dignose of spitz nevus where as I had it stuck in my head unfortunately that they would find out it was melanoma. There is a good chance that that is all it is! With that said, It is still wise to keep a very close eye on this matter and follow up appointments are very important! Be your son's advocate! He cannot speak for himself and he is not his doctors only patient! Ask tons of questions, keep all medical records, and research (as it appears you already are!)! During my husbands battle with melanoma, I learned I had to "be the boss". If you want answers, you have to ask questions! Please feel free to get a hold of me anytime if you have any more questions, (not sure I worded this post very well!) although it has been quite some time since I have been on MPIP, melanoma will forever be stuck in my mind! Good luck!!
Nicole
p.s. .. my daughters spitz nevus was exactly how you described your sons! Except hers was on her back..It was initially thought to be a wart..
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- January 9, 2013 at 2:27 am
Hello, My daughter Ella had a spitz nevus removed when she was 3 (3 years ago). (She also had a large dysplastic nevus removed shortly after) This was quite frightning for me, as her dad passed away from melanoma about a year prior to that. Some of the stories on here can be so scary, so I just want to let you know that my daughters stayed the same dignose of spitz nevus where as I had it stuck in my head unfortunately that they would find out it was melanoma. There is a good chance that that is all it is! With that said, It is still wise to keep a very close eye on this matter and follow up appointments are very important! Be your son's advocate! He cannot speak for himself and he is not his doctors only patient! Ask tons of questions, keep all medical records, and research (as it appears you already are!)! During my husbands battle with melanoma, I learned I had to "be the boss". If you want answers, you have to ask questions! Please feel free to get a hold of me anytime if you have any more questions, (not sure I worded this post very well!) although it has been quite some time since I have been on MPIP, melanoma will forever be stuck in my mind! Good luck!!
Nicole
p.s. .. my daughters spitz nevus was exactly how you described your sons! Except hers was on her back..It was initially thought to be a wart..
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- January 9, 2013 at 2:27 am
Hello, My daughter Ella had a spitz nevus removed when she was 3 (3 years ago). (She also had a large dysplastic nevus removed shortly after) This was quite frightning for me, as her dad passed away from melanoma about a year prior to that. Some of the stories on here can be so scary, so I just want to let you know that my daughters stayed the same dignose of spitz nevus where as I had it stuck in my head unfortunately that they would find out it was melanoma. There is a good chance that that is all it is! With that said, It is still wise to keep a very close eye on this matter and follow up appointments are very important! Be your son's advocate! He cannot speak for himself and he is not his doctors only patient! Ask tons of questions, keep all medical records, and research (as it appears you already are!)! During my husbands battle with melanoma, I learned I had to "be the boss". If you want answers, you have to ask questions! Please feel free to get a hold of me anytime if you have any more questions, (not sure I worded this post very well!) although it has been quite some time since I have been on MPIP, melanoma will forever be stuck in my mind! Good luck!!
Nicole
p.s. .. my daughters spitz nevus was exactly how you described your sons! Except hers was on her back..It was initially thought to be a wart..
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- October 3, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Linda!
Thanks for making me feel better! : ) I am fairly confident the girls are in good hands with the dermatologist they see! It definitely took some 'shopping around', but he seems very knowledgeable of melanoma. (Other derms that we have seen just seemed so bent on cosmetics!)
As much as I hate that Ella has gone through these biopsies and probably always will… I do think it will become a way of life for her!
It was soooo great meeting all of you also! and glad I can still catch up with some of you on facebook when I am not around the mpip board!! : )
never, never, never give up!
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Linda!
Thanks for making me feel better! : ) I am fairly confident the girls are in good hands with the dermatologist they see! It definitely took some 'shopping around', but he seems very knowledgeable of melanoma. (Other derms that we have seen just seemed so bent on cosmetics!)
As much as I hate that Ella has gone through these biopsies and probably always will… I do think it will become a way of life for her!
It was soooo great meeting all of you also! and glad I can still catch up with some of you on facebook when I am not around the mpip board!! : )
never, never, never give up!
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 1:53 am
Thank you Val!
If you read my post below to Janner, you will see that I am very nigilant with my daughters and their skin checks! I have met many wonderful people from the mpip… and I know I will never give up hope no matter what happens! I have met many survivors, some of them being 20+ year stage 4 survivors!! Thank you so very much for your response! : )
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 1:53 am
Thank you Val!
If you read my post below to Janner, you will see that I am very nigilant with my daughters and their skin checks! I have met many wonderful people from the mpip… and I know I will never give up hope no matter what happens! I have met many survivors, some of them being 20+ year stage 4 survivors!! Thank you so very much for your response! : )
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 1:35 am
Thank you Janner!
As you have brought out many good points… I have definitely already thought about them a million times! Ella has tons of moles already… we do monthly skin checks and she sees a dermatologist a few times a year. No, I will not be having EVERY mole removed! The reasoning for my concern for this new spot is just that! It is new! It does not look like her other moles/freckles… the size of it concerns me, and yes, she has the family history! Now I completely understand that pediatric melanoma is extremely rare and almost never does the child have a parent that had melanoma… that is not so much what I am concerned about. What does concern me is that what happens when I leave these suspicious looking spots on her until she is older? My concern is not so much about what could happen now, but what all of this may turn out to be when she grows up! Sean was 24 when he passed away… far to young! If I am not having concerning spots removed then why do we do skin checks every month.. year..?? I've learned so much through my journey with Sean and the one thing you see repeated over and over on any information about melanoma is to do checks regularly and have any suspicious spots removed. I know that melanoma at a stage 1 has a significantly higher survival rate then any other stage. I do know that if she is going to get melanoma, she will get it, so my job is to catch it before it progresses beyond that beginning stage. I feel I have done quite well with her skin checks and determining when and what should be biopsied. The other 2 moles she had removed-were both described as harmless looking, but because of my concern and her family history, her doctors went ahead with the surgeries I requested (and as said before, one was a spitz nevus, one a dysplastic nevus… both atypical). I HATE that I am being put to this test.. how will I know if it is necessary to put her through these surgeries? Why do I feel like a bad mom to want to put my daughter through a surgery, but feel worse if I don't do it?! Sorry, like I said before, guess this is more of a venting post! And to be honest, I am feeling guilty about wanting to have this removed, but the concern of it is literally driving me insane!
Thank you for the response… its so good to see you all still posting! Best wishes to you all…
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 1:35 am
Thank you Janner!
As you have brought out many good points… I have definitely already thought about them a million times! Ella has tons of moles already… we do monthly skin checks and she sees a dermatologist a few times a year. No, I will not be having EVERY mole removed! The reasoning for my concern for this new spot is just that! It is new! It does not look like her other moles/freckles… the size of it concerns me, and yes, she has the family history! Now I completely understand that pediatric melanoma is extremely rare and almost never does the child have a parent that had melanoma… that is not so much what I am concerned about. What does concern me is that what happens when I leave these suspicious looking spots on her until she is older? My concern is not so much about what could happen now, but what all of this may turn out to be when she grows up! Sean was 24 when he passed away… far to young! If I am not having concerning spots removed then why do we do skin checks every month.. year..?? I've learned so much through my journey with Sean and the one thing you see repeated over and over on any information about melanoma is to do checks regularly and have any suspicious spots removed. I know that melanoma at a stage 1 has a significantly higher survival rate then any other stage. I do know that if she is going to get melanoma, she will get it, so my job is to catch it before it progresses beyond that beginning stage. I feel I have done quite well with her skin checks and determining when and what should be biopsied. The other 2 moles she had removed-were both described as harmless looking, but because of my concern and her family history, her doctors went ahead with the surgeries I requested (and as said before, one was a spitz nevus, one a dysplastic nevus… both atypical). I HATE that I am being put to this test.. how will I know if it is necessary to put her through these surgeries? Why do I feel like a bad mom to want to put my daughter through a surgery, but feel worse if I don't do it?! Sorry, like I said before, guess this is more of a venting post! And to be honest, I am feeling guilty about wanting to have this removed, but the concern of it is literally driving me insane!
Thank you for the response… its so good to see you all still posting! Best wishes to you all…
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 1:35 am
Thank you Janner!
As you have brought out many good points… I have definitely already thought about them a million times! Ella has tons of moles already… we do monthly skin checks and she sees a dermatologist a few times a year. No, I will not be having EVERY mole removed! The reasoning for my concern for this new spot is just that! It is new! It does not look like her other moles/freckles… the size of it concerns me, and yes, she has the family history! Now I completely understand that pediatric melanoma is extremely rare and almost never does the child have a parent that had melanoma… that is not so much what I am concerned about. What does concern me is that what happens when I leave these suspicious looking spots on her until she is older? My concern is not so much about what could happen now, but what all of this may turn out to be when she grows up! Sean was 24 when he passed away… far to young! If I am not having concerning spots removed then why do we do skin checks every month.. year..?? I've learned so much through my journey with Sean and the one thing you see repeated over and over on any information about melanoma is to do checks regularly and have any suspicious spots removed. I know that melanoma at a stage 1 has a significantly higher survival rate then any other stage. I do know that if she is going to get melanoma, she will get it, so my job is to catch it before it progresses beyond that beginning stage. I feel I have done quite well with her skin checks and determining when and what should be biopsied. The other 2 moles she had removed-were both described as harmless looking, but because of my concern and her family history, her doctors went ahead with the surgeries I requested (and as said before, one was a spitz nevus, one a dysplastic nevus… both atypical). I HATE that I am being put to this test.. how will I know if it is necessary to put her through these surgeries? Why do I feel like a bad mom to want to put my daughter through a surgery, but feel worse if I don't do it?! Sorry, like I said before, guess this is more of a venting post! And to be honest, I am feeling guilty about wanting to have this removed, but the concern of it is literally driving me insane!
Thank you for the response… its so good to see you all still posting! Best wishes to you all…
Nicole
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- October 3, 2011 at 1:35 am
Thank you Janner!
As you have brought out many good points… I have definitely already thought about them a million times! Ella has tons of moles already… we do monthly skin checks and she sees a dermatologist a few times a year. No, I will not be having EVERY mole removed! The reasoning for my concern for this new spot is just that! It is new! It does not look like her other moles/freckles… the size of it concerns me, and yes, she has the family history! Now I completely understand that pediatric melanoma is extremely rare and almost never does the child have a parent that had melanoma… that is not so much what I am concerned about. What does concern me is that what happens when I leave these suspicious looking spots on her until she is older? My concern is not so much about what could happen now, but what all of this may turn out to be when she grows up! Sean was 24 when he passed away… far to young! If I am not having concerning spots removed then why do we do skin checks every month.. year..?? I've learned so much through my journey with Sean and the one thing you see repeated over and over on any information about melanoma is to do checks regularly and have any suspicious spots removed. I know that melanoma at a stage 1 has a significantly higher survival rate then any other stage. I do know that if she is going to get melanoma, she will get it, so my job is to catch it before it progresses beyond that beginning stage. I feel I have done quite well with her skin checks and determining when and what should be biopsied. The other 2 moles she had removed-were both described as harmless looking, but because of my concern and her family history, her doctors went ahead with the surgeries I requested (and as said before, one was a spitz nevus, one a dysplastic nevus… both atypical). I HATE that I am being put to this test.. how will I know if it is necessary to put her through these surgeries? Why do I feel like a bad mom to want to put my daughter through a surgery, but feel worse if I don't do it?! Sorry, like I said before, guess this is more of a venting post! And to be honest, I am feeling guilty about wanting to have this removed, but the concern of it is literally driving me insane!
Thank you for the response… its so good to see you all still posting! Best wishes to you all…
Nicole
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- October 2, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Jackie!! Oh it's been soooo long… how have you been doing?? No nursing school for me YET… I attempted enrolling a while back, but the scheduling just wasn't working for me being a full time mom and working full time… still something I would LOVE to be able to do.. there is still time! Ella will be in school next year, so I may have to attempt again then… I do not visit the boards much anymore… but I still think about everyone all the time!
Nicole
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- October 2, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Jackie!! Oh it's been soooo long… how have you been doing?? No nursing school for me YET… I attempted enrolling a while back, but the scheduling just wasn't working for me being a full time mom and working full time… still something I would LOVE to be able to do.. there is still time! Ella will be in school next year, so I may have to attempt again then… I do not visit the boards much anymore… but I still think about everyone all the time!
Nicole
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