slo’s TUESDAY 9/5 poll - Full Body Skin Exam

[darnheather]

I'm nearly 50 and think it is probably time since I grew up in Florida without sunblock and my father and uncle had some skin cancer.

 

[Silver saucer]

I had a pink spot on my forearm that looked like nothing. Even my PCP thought it looked like nothing. Then it changed noticeably over about a week. It kind of bubbled up and looked like it was a zit.. .but it wasn't. It was biopsied and found to be melanoma in situ. It was removed by a dermatologist and now Im on the 6 month plan of Full body checks. So far so good. One more check and I go to the one year plan!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I have not. I've been so focused on my family history of colorectal cancer that I just don't think about my skin, since I have noticed nothing out of the ordinary. With my insurance being Medicaid, there has to be something going on before they'll okay a visit to a dermatologist. Something to consider though, Slo. Thank you!

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

This is such an important reminder for everyone. I had my last check in 2020 or early 2021 and had one spot removed from my back. My husband had a full body check in 2018, one spot removed. Then in December, 2019, he noticed a mole on his stomach had changed appearance (size and color) and luckily our dermatologist had a last minute cancellation. It turned out to not only be cancer, but it had spread to some lymph nodes and he was diagnosed with melanoma stage 3. He underwent surgery, followed by immunotherapy treatments for about a year. He now goes for frequent scans and so far no sign of the cancer coming back.

 

[disney4us2002]

I'm blonde/blue eyed and terrible about sunscreen. I mean to but just end up outside longer than expected or simply forget and it's not a regular thing. Like I'll want to go bike riding and not think about sunscreen or go on an early morning walk and think I don't need it.

My face and scalp are sunburned right now and not sure how. We did go to the beach in NC but we sat under the umbrella and only went to the community pool for 30 minutes. I usually sit in the shade. I hate getting sunburn on my scalp/part. I will peel in a few days and look like I have terrible dandruff.

 

[mumto3girls]

I go to the dermatologist every year for a lousy combination of eczema/acne/rosacea. My old dermatologist did full body scans every 3-5 years. I think I had 2 with her. My current dermatologist does them yearly. My last one was in June and I had one the previous June as well. They’ve never found anything.

 

[mmbrad02]

I'm 43 and I've gone for an annual skin exam annually for 4 years now. Though nothing has been detected, I wish I had started sooner for ease of mind. I have ugly black moles (though small) on my back that I've always been so self conscious about and then later scared they were dangerous. Turns out those don't even make the dermatologist blink.

I got started with annual exams because my obgyn at the time always checked patients backs for moles during *that* annual exam. Thought it was kind of strange honestly but he got me kind of worried about a spot so it did at least get me to the dermatologist and doing that regularly. The only thing I've had removed was a cherry angioma that the dermatologist had zero concerns about but it was on my upper arm and big and ugly and it was a cosmetic request on my part.

My DH has had a couple of spots that I pointed out that worried me and I've actually made his appts to go - but they have yet to convince him to have a full body check. Maybe next time I should surprise him and schedule that when I see something that concerns me Luckily his have been benign.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I go every 3-6 months for full body checks. They remove 3 moles every time (I think it’s an insurance thing). Whether they schedule the next appointment in 3 or 6 months depends on how anxious my dermatologist is to remove the next round of suspicious moles. The biopsies always come back abnormal, though thankfully none have been cancerous, and I go back between regular appointments for further excisions if they didn’t get clear margins the first time around. There are times where I am at the dermatologist every 6 weeks.

I apparently have way more moles than any normal human being and, while they just look like small dark freckles to me, the dermatologist likes to describe them to the training interns as “funny, weird, and unusual.” Some have even had “tails.” She claims that most people have mole patterns that are normal for them, but I grow them every which way so they all look abnormal. (It’s good to have a talent, I suppose.) My moles are of such quantity and interest that my dermatologist always brings in back up to help look me over — I’ve had as many as four people scrutinizing my naked body at once! Ugh. Whatever. I have a gnarly family history with skin cancer so I will continue to do what I have to do.

 

[Meriweather]

I go to a dermatologist every year for an exam. Next week is my time.
I have lots of moles,etc. But nothing serious ever found.
DH always has a few spots removed. He goes every 6 months

 

[Ellie008]

I went once, several years ago. I was seen by an older male Dr, and left the exam feeling icky. I haven't been back since. I have a male gyn and have never felt weird about those exams. That dermatologist though... nope. I should really go again and just insist on a different Dr. I might have to go to a different location entirely though. Ugh.

 

[gncntry]

I have had yearly full body scans with my dermatologist for the past 15 years. She hasn’t found anything but I usually have one or two things for her to look at. She will usually removing any skin tags that are irritating me.