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Snet
United States3573 Posts
On March 27 2009 07:57 Physician wrote:- in a way u have to count ur blessings, u found the darn phucker and the melanoma could have been in a worse spot, like ur nose, ur pecker or near an eye lid.. then ur in for a trip when they have to do that 3 inch marign : ( - good luck on biopsy result. http://www.melanomacenter.org/staging/tnmstagingsystem.html- don't freak out if they order a chest x-ray and other tests; it's standard procedure even if they are early stages
Definitely, a family friend had the procedure done on his face - twice  . I am definitely lucky so to speak.
So far no chest x-rays but I do have an appointment with Optometry to have the back of my eyes looked at. They said Melanoma can occur in the eyes and mouth so I should give my dentist a heads up during my next cleaning.
Thanks for all the good luck wishes, TL.
On March 27 2009 08:08 JWD wrote:
Interesting story, with a good message. Stay healthy, everyone!
Snet, have you heard back about whether there is melanoma present elsewhere? I hope everything turns out ok for you.
So far they do not think it has spread. That is what this procedure was for. Physician mentioned a three inch margin, that is the area they are testing. They will be looking for signs of the Melanoma in that skin they removed, and if they do - afaik they will have to cut deeper, until it's all gone.
I will be getting a full skin check by the Dermatologist, which they will carefully look over every inch of my body and remove any suspect moles for more testing to see if it is elsewhere on my body.
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Great attitude, man. Good luck!
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Congrats on outsmarting cancer. 
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I know how you feel, I've had mellonoma my self ...when i was 22 it was found on my back between my shoulderblades, itwas allready in the state of clarks level 2 .....they futheron cut out a huge piece in a 4 inch diameter, and i bassicly had a bagtuck cause it wasn't possible to transplant skin there......it hadn't spread they said.....so my reaction was to just not dealing with it, pretty imature. I am of scandinavian heritage so pretty fair skinned, but grew up in Latin America mostly, and thats probably the reason that I got it, to much sun and way to strong.
Anyways, I kind of got this melt down all of a sudden(after a year)...cause i had pushed it all away for far to long, not delt with it att all..probably out of fear....I was really scared of gettin diagonosed with melanin melanoma again, and the first 5 years was miserable ! it's now been 7 years, and i'm doing great. My advice to you is, to talk about it as much as you can ....don't hide it, it hits you later.....don't worry to much , sound like you are in good hands,sending you blessings Maria.
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Glad that worked out for you, that's scary shit. A couple random questions if you dont mind answering I'm just curious. Did the mole grow hair at all? And did it ever like feel sore/hurt?
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I'm happy that you went and got it checked out instead of just thinking 'it's probably nothing', which a lot of people would think. I should probably take a look at my own body now...
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Snet
United States3573 Posts
On March 28 2009 18:26 Divinek wrote:
Glad that worked out for you, that's scary shit. A couple random questions if you dont mind answering I'm just curious. Did the mole grow hair at all? And did it ever like feel sore/hurt?
It never grew hair or was soar. It didn't even look that weird, it was just bigger and blacker than any of my other moles - so it stood out. The turning point that made me make the appointment is one day my arm was itching around that area. I have no clue if the mole itself was itching, I don't think it was, but I did one of those "get an idea in your head and you convince yourself its true" kind of things.
Maria, it sounds like you had it pretty rough compared to me. I know it's kind of easy to just ignore because you have no clue it's even there until you get tested, or it gets into later stages. I do hope you're atleast getting yearly skin checks just to be safe? Thanks for your support.
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Snet
United States3573 Posts
I thought I would give an update on what has happened since the day of surgery. I returned to the hospital today with the following agenda:
- Suture removal
- Full body check for any suspicious moles
- Have eyes dilated and checked for Melanoma
It turns out the surgery was a complete success and there are no traces of Melanoma left in the area. The doctor also did not find any suspect moles during the full body check, and the back of my eyes could not be any better. This whole situation which was at first a shock and scare to the family, now is resolved - and all I have to show for it is a three inch scar that will eventually fade in time.
+ Show Spoiler [ Updated picture without stitches] +
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Haha, that is rather ironic. I thought prolonged exposure to the sun caused melanoma. Did they figure out how it happened?
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Snet
United States3573 Posts
On April 07 2009 05:36 ghostWriter wrote:
Haha, that is rather ironic. I thought prolonged exposure to the sun caused melanoma. Did they figure out how it happened?
My grandmother and uncle had Melanoma, so it was more than likely genetic.
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Physician
United States4146 Posts
How deep did it go in mm? or what Breslow thickness? or what Clark level was it?
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Smix
United States4549 Posts
That's really good to hear Snet! It's a relief it was caught early and that there were no further traces of melanoma. Your family must be incredibly relieved as well... congrats!
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Why did that appear? Is it 100% random?
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On March 27 2009 08:02 ibutoss wrote:
why did you make me read this? WHY? I have like 4 moles one is sorta big on my leg but it always has been there. Now I'm feeling paranoid, won't be going to a doctor though. I'll take it like a man
You're gonna take death like a man?
No one's a man when it comes to death.
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Snet
United States3573 Posts
On April 07 2009 07:59 Physician wrote:
How deep did it go in mm? or what Breslow thickness? or what Clark level was it?
Being that it was caught extremely early (18 years old) it was only Clark Level 1 and I believe they only went 5mm deep. I think she actually said, after they saw the results, that what I had isn't even considered cancer yet because it hadn't breached the dermis. Had I missed the mole and let it grow it would of been a much more serious situation. I believe now that we have the test results my condition was actually called "Malignant Melanoma In-situ" meaning it hadn't gone deep enough to be Clark Level 2?
I'm really newb with all this info but she dumbed it down for me and said "Because it was caught early this is the friendliest of all Melanomas and is almost a 100% cure rate".
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You win! The manliest man is the one who knows when to go to others for help.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7563/withoutstitches.jpg)
