Stage 1 a questions…

[harrison14]

Last week, I went to a dermatologist to get my moles looked at for a baseline. My primary care Dr. just wanted to get them check because I have a lot of moles. Well my dermatologist look at all of them and decided to remove one on my back. He didnt think it was a bad one but wanted to be safe. Well on on Monday of this week he called back and informed me that it was positive for melanoma. I do not tan, I am fair skinned white, and hate the beach, so i was shocked. He said it was .5mm deep and staged it at 1A. I went back to him the next day and he did a wide local excision about 1cm around. That was yesterday. So what is next? I go back in two weeks to get the staples removed and then I guess i see him once every 6 months for two years. My questions are the following

1. since i have a lot of moles why did that mole have melanoma?

2. Since I have a lot of moles on my body and near the one he removed, does that chances go up for the others to have melanoma?

2. Since i get checked now every six months, can one mole progress to a high stage in six months.

3. When the survival rate is 95% plus, does that mean that only 5 percent chance melanoma will return anywhere in my body in another mole.

Do I make sense here,lol.

Should I see another dermatologist to get another opinion and another set of eyes to look at my moles.

Or since it is only stage IA i should relax and be glad it is only that stage.

any advice and info would be great.

I see him in two week, what questions should I ask.

Thanks,

Rich

[cohanja]

Hi,

Do you have a copy of your pathology report with other information in addition to the .5mm? So, mitotic rate, regression, etc..?

[harrison14]

i can get a copy. But according to the Dr when he removed the mole there were clear non cancer cells around the melanoma.

Can you answer the other questions i asked.

Thanks again

[Worrywart]

Your Dr probably removed the most suspicious looking mole. Since that one was melanoma, he/she may want to check you over again and possibly remove a few more…to get an idea of what is ‘normal’ for you and what is abnormal. You will want to get to know your skin and do a monthly skin check – looking for anything new or changing. Since you have a lot of moles, mole mapping may be a good option for you. As for your second question, melanoma does not usually grow to a late stage in 6 mos, but there are types that are aggressive (nodular for instance). The 5% survival for your stage indicates that 95% of people with your same diagnosis will be alive in 5 years. When melanoma spreads (or metastasizes) it does not go to another mole, it goes to organs/lymph/blood – that is when it becomes deadly. Another melanoma is called a NEW primary, and is unrelated to your first one. The odds of a second primary melanoma are somewhere between 8-10%. I would recommend a second opinion on your pathology at a center of excellence. Search for a dermatopathologist and have your doc send the slides. Good luck!

[harrison14]

what is a center of excellence? I live in rochester ny.

[cohanja]

http://www.safefromthesun.org/resources/cancercenters.html

NEW YORK

Cancer Research Center

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Chanin Building, Room 209

1300 Morris Park Avenue

Bronx, New York 10461

(718) 430-2302

http://www.einstein.yu.edu/cancercenter/page.aspx

Columbia Melanoma Center

Columbia University

New York Presbyterian Hospital

The Tumor Vaccine Program

Department of Surgery

177 Fort Washington Avenue

New York, NY 10032

212-342-0232

http://www.columbiamelanomacenter.org

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Elm & Carlton Streets

Buffalo, New York 14263-0001

(716) 845-5772

1-877-ASK-RPCI

http://www.roswellpark.org

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

P.O. Box 100

Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724

(516) 367-8383

http://www.cshl.edu

NYU Cancer Institute

New York University Langone Medical Center

550 First Avenue

New York, New York 10016

(212) 263-6485

http://www.cancer.med.nyu.edu

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

1275 York Avenue

New York, New York 10021

212-639-2000

800-525-2225

http://www.mskcc.org

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center

College of Physicians & Surgeons Columbia University

1130 St. Nicholas Avenue

Room 508

New York, New York 10032

(212) 851-52730

http://www.hiccc.columbia.edu

James P. Wilmot Cancer Center

University of Rochester Medical Center

601 Elmwood Ave. Box 704

Rochester NY 14642

(866) 4-WILMOT

(585) 275-5830

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu

Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care

Montefiore Medical Center

Melanoma/Sarcoma Program

Greene Medical Arts Pavilion

3400 Bainbridge Avenue

Bronx, NY 10467

718-920-4321

http://www.montefiore.org

Weill Cornell Cancer Center

New York-Presbyterian Hospital

525 East 68 th Street

New York, NY 10065

212-746-5454

http://www.nyp.org/cancer/

Tisch Cancer Institute

Mount Sinai Medical Center

1190 5 th Avenue

New York, NY 10029

212-241-6756

1-800-MD-SINAI

http://www.mountsinai.org

[Author]

Posts