melanoma in situ

[cbroder77]

hi my name is Charity and was recently diagnosed with a melanoma in situ on my leg. i have a surgery scheduled next month. I am beyond terrified and feel like this diagnosis is taking me over. It is all i think about. Any one have any tips on dealing with the stress. I am so fearful of my future.

[jennunicorn21]

Hearing the word melanoma is scary in the beginning and takes some time to adjust to the diagnosis. You can breathe a big sigh of relief that you caught it super early, which means the melanoma had no access to your blood or lymph vessels so it had no way of spreading elsewhere. Excellent news in that regard. You'll get some extra tissue around the biopsy site removed for good measure, but you will likely never deal with melanoma again. Remember, if all you're thinking about is melanoma, then melanoma is winning.. and no one wants the enemy to win. Be grateful it was caught early, be vigilant with sun protection, take this as an opportunity to educate yourself and your friends/family about the importance of sun protection and getting skin checks, and keep living your healthy life. Hang in there.

[Knazari]

Hi Charity. I understand how you feel. I was diagnosed with melanoma insitu 3 days ago, my surgery is next week. I'm still in disbelief because I had shown my "lesion" to my dermatologist on 3 different checkups over the past year and it wasn't until I pressed him to biopsy it did he do it. He didn't think it was something that was concerning. Sure enough, it came back melanoma insitu. I'm not too worried about the surgery as I am about the possibility that I have another melanoma somewhere else that is going undetected, as I'm pretty freckly.

I've read on other posts that people say that after their melanoma was treated, they are now cancer-free. But how do you know you are cancer-free? After my current dermatologist missed this, I don't feel I can truly trust anymore dermatologists and I'll have to look out more for myself.

[cbroder77 in reply to Knazari]

Hi wow that is scary. I have a ton of moles. I did have one that had changed and was pretty text book. My husband was one who pushed me to have checked out. I was still shocked. I too am concerned about all my hundreds of others on my body. Where was yours and what did it look like?

[Knazari in reply to cbroder77]

I was checking out old photos. The spot on my arm was just a regular-size freckle 5 years ago. It slowly grew bigger but seemed to change faster the last 12 months. It developed a border, which was one of the giveaways that something wasn't right. I originally thought it was due to my pregnancy last year, since pregnancy can mess with your skin pigmentation. But instead of getting better after the pregnancy, it got worse. I wonder if there was any correlation between the two...

[Knazari in reply to Knazari]

I just saw this post and thought it was interesting that other women also noticed they developed melanoma insitu when they were pregnant.

If there is a correlation, I think I might breath easier knowing I don't plan on having any more kids. 😊

melanoma.org/find-support/p...

[BlondieMeg in reply to Knazari]

Wow I feel like I could've written this. You sound just like me. I too had to convince my dermatologist to biopsy my "lesion". I feel like if I was younger and this happened I would've taken his word for it and left it alone. We have to all remind ourselves to be our own advocate!!

It's so nice we can all share our stories, but I wish none of had to go through this.

How are you doing after your surgery?

[Knazari in reply to BlondieMeg]

I'm glad this online Melanoma support group was created. I feel like it has really helped me.

When I was first diagnosed, I felt alone and unsure about the future and had so many questions. Since I've joined this group, I feel like I'm getting the support I need.

[Knazari in reply to BlondieMeg]

I had surgery a week ago today. The surgery went well and the surgeon did a good job suturing up the incision to make it look the best it could.

I'm changing dermatologists and having my spots reviewed again next month. I'm nervous that my last dermatologist might have missed another melanoma.

Although I have some spots I'm a little bit nervous about, I would prefer not to have them biopsied unless they are deemed suspicious by a doctor. If I have every spot I'm nervous about biopsied, I'm going end up looking like Swiss cheese. 😋

I'm going to start keeping track of my own spots, though, by documenting them with photographs. This way I can better track how much they've changed or grown over time, and hopefully, will help physicians make better decisions about my care.

How are things going for you?

[BlondieMeg in reply to Knazari]

I'm glad you had a good surgeon. Sounds like you are doing good! I too changed dermatologists. My only trouble was making sure all my paperwork was faxed to the new office in a timely manner.

I have hundreds of moles on my body too, so it's kinda hard not to drive myself crazy sometimes wondering which mole could be next. It's been a year since having my melanoma removed, and there are good days and days where I get worried sick. But it's getting better. I've had 2 that have came back A typical, or precancerous, but no melanoma. I think that's a great idea to take your own photos! I also have my husband check me, and that makes me feel a little better since he had commented on my skin saying I should get the mole that turned into melanoma checked.

I was diagnosed when my first son was a year and a half, and at that time I was 8 weeks pregnant with my 2nd son, but I didn't know it at the time. I can't help but think that there is a correlation between pregnancy and melanoma as well.

[AmNic17 in reply to BlondieMeg]

Interesting to read this! My daughter will be 2 in May and I received my melanoma diagnosis a little over a week ago and have already had surgery to remove it. Have you found any supporting evidence?

[Knazari]

Mine was on my arm. It looked like a flat freckle, but it had slowly gotten larger over the past few years.

[cbroder77 in reply to Knazari]

I actually don't remember how mine started. I believe it was a freckle, sun spot appearance. Something I got in the last 5 years maybe. It did grow, get darker and uneven color, started getting uneven borders. I still didn't think anything of it until my husband kept commenting on it. Mine was on my leg in front by shin. Like I said I have so many dark moles and lots of freckle sun spot types. Did you go in the sun a lot? I live in New York so I was defiantly outside by the pool in the summers. I have been reading so many conflicting facts of melanoma. Scary stuff!

[Knazari]

I grew up in dessert environments and now live in sunny Southern California. I was concerned I would get skin cancer eventually, but I thought it would be the kind you could burn off. I never thought I would have to be concerned with having one that could potentially spread to my blood and organs. Scary stuff...

I'm going to have a new dermatologist look at my spots again. I don't want to chance another melanoma being missed.

Are you making any lifestyle changes to protect yourself from the sun?

[cbroder77 in reply to Knazari]

I am definitely scared of the sun right now. I have been reading and researching everything about melanoma. Trying to find answers and any secrets to prevent it from coming back. I am going to try switching my diet up to a more plant based. I eat pretty healthy but I figured it can't hurt to change it a bit. I am trying to incorporate lots of antioxidants. Obviously be more cautious with sun exposure. It was recommended to go to the derm every 3 months for scans.

[Knazari]

I didn't think of changing my diet, but definitely something I'll look into.

[Knazari]

I just came across this article on diet. Thought you might find it interesting: fitnessmagazine.com/recipes...

[cbroder77 in reply to Knazari]

Very interesting! That has been what I have been reading. I have been eating much more vegetables and fruits. Less meats. Red wine is bonus!

[Knazari]

Wine is definitely a bonus!

[Knazari]

I just realized your name has 77 in it. Is that the year you were born? If so, then we are the same age.

[cbroder77 in reply to Knazari]

Yes, it is the year I was born.

[Knazari in reply to cbroder77]

Happy 40th! My bday was Feb.

[cbroder77 in reply to Knazari]

Mine was march 31. Amazing how time flies! How many kids do you have? I have 1. He just turned 6 august 1st.

[cbroder77]

I was just reading pregnancy comments about the melanoma. Funny I think I may originally developed spot around time I was pregnant with my son. I had thought of that right after diagnosis. I also got some sunspots on my face at that time.