Excellent news! The dermatologist saw my email and called to fit me in today at 3:45pm. It was the head of the clinic believe it or not!
Interesting... I'll update when I get home.
If you can't get in to see a dermatologist, which is typical for the area we live in. They book up early with "procedures", etc. Call and get an appointment with a general surgeon or a plastic surgeon. He can certainly evaluate it and if it is at all suspicious, can excise it and send it to the lab.
Excellent news! The dermatologist saw my email and called to fit me in today at 3:45pm. It was the head of the clinic believe it or not!
Interesting... I'll update when I get home.
One of the TV stations in the DC area did a test and had people call dermatologists offices for two types of appointments, botox and a suspicious mole. Guess who was able to get an appointent within days?
While the PCP is in no position to effectively biopsy the lesion, a general surgeon or a plastic surgeon certainly is. Many patients prefer plastic surgeons for extensive disection because of their skills. While they may not be able to give a definitive diagnosis by examining a lesion, they can certainly send it to the pathologist. A board certified pathologist can recognize melanoma as well as most cancer cells. That is what they do. General surgeons are the surgeons that operate on patients with melanoma metastasis and hospital pathologists are the ones that more often than not make that diagnosis. Furthermore, she could ask for the surgeon to send the sample to a dermatopathologist. I am not saying that a dermatologist isn't optimal, but waiting 3 weeks with anxiety is far from optimal and I would want an answer sooner.
Yes, the original mole on the knee was a Dysplastic Nevus. They cleared the margins and consider that one gone.
This one today they saw abnormal cells right away which does kind of scare me. They said if it comes back benign, then I should be done with this one. If it comes back Melanoma, then I am not "done". I didn't ask for anymore details than that because I tend to like to cross my bridges one at a time (and only when necessary).
I will update this thread once I hear the results. At least I get to spend the next few days waiting at Disney World!![]()
Good luck, Sandy!
I'll keep you posted! Tonight I'm going to enjoy a glass of wine (even though the suture care sheet said no alcohol) and hopefully a good night sleep tonight.
I've done my part - whatever happens from here happens.
First ride tomorrow - Spaceship Earth!![]()
Don't be surprised if they call you sooner if it's melanoma. My DH had melanoma on his back (looked similar to yours but worse). He went to an appt with his sister, the derm took one look at it and said "that's coming off today". She and her asst worked through lunch to remove it. The Dr called my DH the next day and told him that he was having surgery the next week at Emory, that it was already scheduled. He's been clear now for over 10 years.