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Hi Everyone, As you can see I have also joined you. I went in on June 14th to have the dermatologist look at a mole that was changing color. Luckily, I knew about the a,b,c,d,and e’s. He thought that it was a Spitz Nevus, but wanted to rule out melanoma. On July 2, while bringing my daughters in for a check-up (derm), I was told that it came back as a dysplastic Nevus, but other tests were still being done to it. Low and behold, on July 12, at 8:10 in the morning, the phone rang. My husband picked it up and handed the phone over to me. The dermatologist had received an updated report confirming melanoma stage pT1a. I called the melanoma center closest to me, on the same day. I was able to get in with the head of the center on July 18th. I had an excision on August 13th and was told that all margins were cleared.
Here is the information first given to me. I have looked up some of these terms, but some is still a boit unclear to me. Luckily I have a degree in biology and was able to get the just of it.
Malignant Melanoma
Clark Level III
Breslow thickness .4mm without ulceration
tumor type-superficial spreading with spitzoid features(not sure what that is)
Radial (non tumorigenic) growth phase present
Vertical growth phase not recognized
<1 mitotic figures/mm2(does this mean that it is slow growing??)
Regression not identified
Lymphatic invasion not identified(i don’t think they took any nodes out with the excision)
Perineural invasion not identified
Microscopic satelllitosis not identified (no clue to this)
Tumor -infiltrating lymphocytes are brisk(not too sure on this either)
Associated melanocytic nevus not identified
predominant cytology is epithlioid and spindled (not sure about this either)
Would appreciate some information on what I presented. As many of you have posted, I too am worried about other moles being positive. Going for a body check with another derm on 9/5/12. Also worried about reoccuurence in the same area.
God Bless all of Us and I will continue to pray and keep all in my prayers.
Congratulations on catching this early, this is a stage 1a lesion with an excellent prognosis. The low mitosis does mean that it was slow growing. The lymphatic invasion is referring to your lymph vessels in your skin, the lymph nodes are taken with a slnb. Microscopic satellitosis is uncommon and usually only found in thicker tumors. Your brisk TIL’s helps your prognosis and just means your immune system recognized and was attacking the melanoma aggressively. Very low risk! AND since Spitz and melanoma are often difficult to distinguish between, who even knows if it’s an actual melanoma. I’d get another opinion but in any case, it’s very low risk. So get to know your skin and watch for anything new or changing! Thank you for the Spitz info. The report did favor melanoma by 94%. The melanoma oncologist read the report and thought the excision was needed. Getting my stitches out next Tues. So I will inquire . PS- I’ve been a worry wort for 27 years. It can suck the life out of you. I need to stop worrying about things I cannot control. However, easier said than done.
There are lots of good things in this pathology report, the mitosis being less than 1, the shallow depth of .4, radial growth phase meaning it has little or no capacity to metastasize. Good job finding this early! Whole body photography will be your best way to follow your skin if you have many moles. Try not to go and get everything taken off, because it just doesn’t pan out to be in your best interest. Thank you Catherine for responding to my pathology report!! I’m feeling somewhat better reading all these positive comments about my circumstances. I am having some extra anxiety, but I will try to work on that. I also want to Thank You for creating this website. It truly makes a negative situation a bit easier having others help to answer questions or to even talk about some legitimate concerns. For anxiety we suggest you try practicing mindful meditation twice a day (there are many CDs by Jon Kabat-Zinn for example, he’s a pioneer at Harvard.) Also, aerobic exercise helps a few times a week. Also, it is quite normal to be anxious and you might request some medication from your doctor to get you through the rough spots. Had my stitches removed today. The oncologist said that he was done with me and to get my checkups every three months or so, with my dermatologist (going 9/5). I am relieved that this phase is over, but I cannot get rid of the tremendous anxiety I am having. Even though the margins were clear and the WLE was done, I have this fear that maybe I still have it in me. Was a SNB needed? Most reports , including the oncologist, say that in my case it wasn’t needed. Is there any input?? Let me know. PS- I don’t have any swelling anywhere.
What you are feeling is normal. I think I took like 3 trips to ER in months following my dx – I had odd pains, aches, headaches, strange vision problems and I was convinced it was melanoma (but it ended up just being stress!). Just know you are not alone. We have all been there, the initial phase is scary because your life has been threatened. Luckily, you have had the melanoma removed and odds are it will never bother you again! Take it one day at a time. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I think I am very stressed and maybe doing a little too much research. I am going to try some relaxing techniques and just focus on things I enjoy doing. Thanks again, for your input.
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