Any melanoma experts around?

[zakatak]

Hi!

I had a mole removed earlier this year that had questionable cells so they had to go in and excise the area (on knee). Now I have a nice 3 inch scar there but all is clean.

Last night I noticed this lesion on my hip. I have no idea how long it's been there since it's in an area that I do not look at often. I can say that it drew my eye right to it so it may be new? I can't be sure. It does seem to fit most of the criteria for ABCD (it's 6 mm wide).

Can anyone take a look and let me know what they think? I know nobody's a doctor and I do have a dermatologist appt on December 7th but I'm freaking out now LOL.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38424174@N05/4109497066/?eOrig=4109492636

Thanks in advance! Let me know your gut instincts...

 

[EdiePA]

My gut instinct --

Don't wait for the dermatologist appointment. Call your GP and get that seen.

Not saying it's melanoma, but irregular borders and colors -- get it checked.

 

[Butwhyistherumgone?]

Not to alarm you further but keep that appt. with the dermatologist. It looks like something that need to be evaluated ASAP.

 

[snowball22]

I have had melanoma and basal and squamous. Please oh please tell the derm that you need to get in right away. The color and irregular boarders are a big tip off. Good luck!!

 

[zakatak]

Thank you! I have stressed to the Derm that I am very worried and the soonest they can see me is December 7th.

I even tried other docs but they won't accept new patients until January. So, I'm stuck waiting until December 7th I guess.

 

[HeatherH]

I wouldn't wait, either. Honestly, it definitely looks very suspicious. I have had basal cell, and if I thought it was that...it could wait till December.

This one should not wait. I would take that picture and go directly to the doctor's office and show it to them. I'm hoping that would be enough to get you in quicker. My dermatologist's office is crazy busy too, BUT, whenever I have a suspicious mole...they get me in within a week.

Please don't let it go until next month, keep trying to be seen. I hope we're all wrong and it's nothing serious.

 

[zakatak]

Well, I just tried to send them an email with the photo link. I called to confirm the receipt and they said, "nobody's ever done that before". LOL

They said it won't get looked at (??) and that it won't hurt to wait until December 7th to be seen. Alrighty then...

I am almost ready to walk the camera over myself.

 

[java]

Must be dermatoligist week. I am just back- and they hacked off a mole on my face. Slapping a HUGE bandaid on as well. I couldn't believe they didn't have the small round ones?
But I say get that checked out asap. Better to be safe. Here's hoping it's nothing! I'll get my call tomorrow if mine is something or nothing.

 

[HeatherH]

UGH, I am so sorry, I'm ready to go over and demand an appointment for you too!

Do you have a family practice doc or internist? Someone that can see you quickly, and maybe pull some strings to get you seen earlier by the dermatologist?

I know you're frustrated and scared, I would be too. That just looks way too much like melanoma, and waiting three weeks just seems like it COULD make a difference. I'm really surprised that a dermatologist's office is being so cavalier about it.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[DawnCt1]

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.

 

[purpletiger]

UGH, I am so sorry, I'm ready to go over and demand an appointment for you too!

Do you have a family practice doc or internist? Someone that can see you quickly, and maybe pull some strings to get you seen earlier by the dermatologist?

I know you're frustrated and scared, I would be too. That just looks way too much like melanoma, and waiting three weeks just seems like it COULD make a difference. I'm really surprised that a dermatologist's office is being so cavalier about it.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

I work for a dermatologist and I will try to say this as nicely as I can.

It's not that we are being "cavalier" about it it's just that everyone thinks that their problem/mole is urgent. The doctor I work for is only human. He can only see so many patients in one day and is not super human. You don't want him to rush through your appointment so that he can see the next "urgent" patient. Although your mole does need to be seen as it does seem to have irregular borders and pigment; it can wait until December 7th. As some previous posters have stated that it needs to be seen urgently, which maybe so, if it is to "that" point then you should have been at your derm's office much sooner than waiting until now. If it just arrised within a few weeks then you should be OK until your appointment. I would not advise going to a general surgeon or your pcp and just call the derm's office and asked to be put on their waiting list for an earlier appointment. They will call you if they have an earlier appointment. General surgeon's and pcp do not have the schooling or knowledge on irregular moles and usually do not send their pathology to a dermatopathologist which is who it needs to be sent to. Anyway good luck.

 

[cindy_belle]

As an oncology nurse, I ran a melanoma skin cancer clinic for several years and I would not wait to be seen by the dermatologist.

My advice is to not cancel your appointment but in the meantime try to get in asap to your GP, try to find a more accommodating dermatologist OR see if you can get an appt with a surgical oncologist. Emphasize that you have a history of melanoma when you call and do not give up until you get a dr appt. You could also check to see if there is a skin cancer clinic near where you live.

And after this scare, make sure that you get checked regularly by a specialist in melanoma, who will be able to catch any future changes very early.

Not trying to scare you but it really needs to be seen asap, especially if it is new.

 

[AnnaS]

Whatever you do, please keep us updated.

 

[tazdev3225]

I have to go along with everyone else. Go to your GP and have them look at it. I had what looked like a weird freckle several years ago and it turned out to be an atypical mole that was just becoming cancerous. My dr. wanted me seen yesterday by the dermatologist who wouldn't see me right away. I got the name of another dermatologist and within 2 weeks had a biopsy and the mole excised. That looks very suspicious to me, I would not wait.

 

[cindy_belle]

It's not that we are being "cavalier" about it it's just that everyone thinks that their problem/mole is urgent.

The thing is that when you have had cancer in the past, getting an appointment to see about a potential new melanoma is "urgent". They have a past history and are at an increased risk of developing a new melanoma.

In addition, while surgery does not necessarily need to be done immediately, there is a lot to be said by providing medical care promptly for the mental health of the patient.

My DH is a physician and he never has an issue squeezing in a patient if there is a legitimate reason for them to be seen. I would think that a previous diagnosis of melanoma would fit that criteria.

 

[DawnCt1]

I work for a dermatologist and I will try to say this as nicely as I can.

It's not that we are being "cavalier" about it it's just that everyone thinks that their problem/mole is urgent. The doctor I work for is only human. He can only see so many patients in one day and is not super human. You don't want him to rush through your appointment so that he can see the next "urgent" patient. Although your mole does need to be seen as it does seem to have irregular borders and pigment; it can wait until December 7th. As some previous posters have stated that it needs to be seen urgently, which maybe so, if it is to "that" point then you should have been at your derm's office much sooner than waiting until now. If it just arrised within a few weeks then you should be OK until your appointment. I would not advise going to a general surgeon or your pcp and just call the derm's office and asked to be put on their waiting list for an earlier appointment. They will call you if they have an earlier appointment. General surgeon's and pcp do not have the schooling or knowledge on irregular moles and usually do not send their pathology to a dermatopathologist which is who it needs to be sent to. Anyway good luck.

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.

 

[cindy_belle]

While a Dermatologist is one physician who is capable of diagnosing melanoma, they are not, by far, the only physician.

When I was running the Melanoma cancer clinic, the Derms never did the biopsy or the subsequent surgery, it was always the surgical oncologist who had specialty training in oncology who did it. The plastic surgeon was usually involved only to revise the incision or if the melanoma was on the face.

I agree that a dermatopathologist would be optimal but at a top notch hospital, any good pathologist would be capable of making a definitive diagnosis.

Please look into seeing if there is another physician more readily available for you.

 

[zakatak]

Thank you all! Just to clarify one important point, the last mole I had removed was not melanoma but contained cells that they deemed "different" enough to have the area excised. I don't remember the name they gave them, though.

I did call my GP and they recommended I just wait the 3 weeks as that is "an excellent response time for an appointment". So, I guess I'll just wait the three weeks and try to forget about it for now.

Thank you for all of your responses. It is nice to know I am not crazy for being worried about it.

 

[zakatak]

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.

 

[cindy_belle]

That is excellent news.

Was it a dysplastic nevus?