Melanoma in situ and colon polyps

[Davidoff]

My husband has a history of polyps during his routine colonoscopy. He is now diagnosed with melanoma in situ, on his face, close to his eye. He has had two procedures to locate the margins so they can remove the melanoma at Moffitt. They are unsure if they will do a skin graft, but it is likely.

A few days before our first Moffitt visit, we saw his primary who noted that for the second time in 6 months there is blood in the stool sample but he is not terribly concerned since his last colonoscopy was a year and a half ago. At that point we thought that when we got to Moffitt they would be doing scans, etc. Given the in situ diagnosis, the doctor feels that it has not progressed any further.

My husband is a great patient but is a bit overwhelmed, not that I blame him! I know he is not ready to,pursue the colon issues right now, one thing at a time.

We saw the melanoma about 6months ago and his derm thought it was nothing. Three months later, it was bigger and darker and that is when he biopsied it. We have now lost some confidence in him. In addition, my husband has many moles, etc on his back which the derm says is nothing. Moffitt seems focused on the face, which is obviously the big issue and they haven’t even looked at his back. They will remove a squamous cell from his chest while he is under general. I know I am rambling but I am nervous that we aren’t covering all our bases.Any advice?

Thanks for any support!

[Catherine Poole]

Yes, that all sounds overwhelming for both of you. Take a deep breath and deal with one at a time. Do you have the pathology report? Can you share with us? The polyps are not a concern if he had a recent colonoscopy, that was taken care of by removal. The two diseases have one thing in common: when you catch them early they are curable! So tell us more..

[Davidoff]

Thank you for your response. Surgery is tomorrow morning. I will get the pathology report and post.

[Author]

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