EEK!
What was the treatment?
I got my appointment- good news. Unfortunately it’s in October. That’s the soonest I could get in. I told the appointment person that I wanted the all-over-every-square-inch exam.
EEK!
What was the treatment?
I got my appointment- good news. Unfortunately it’s in October. That’s the soonest I could get in. I told the appointment person that I wanted the all-over-every-square-inch exam.
I had the once over by a dermatologist a few months ago, my concern was psoriasis. The only piece of clothing I didn’t have to remove was my shorts but she took a glance at what was inside. Other than the patches of psoriasis on my elbows and right hand, her only concern was a powder burn from a wayward bottle rocket on the side of my face. I was told this could be a bigger issue as I age rather than thousand or so moles that cover my body from the top of my head to the bottom of my left foot.
[quote=“ThelmaLou, post:21, topic:762038”]
EEK!
What was the treatment?
He removed it, but he didn’t get all the margins.
I went to a second doctor who did the Mohs surgery.
Update: Today I can answer the question in the OP from experience.
I went to a dermatologist for an all over mole check. She really did look at every square inch of my body, including between my toes, on my head through my hair, behind my ears, at my lips and inside my mouth, and where the sun don’t shine (front and back).
She had someone in the room taking notes as she recited doctor-code for the different lumps, bumps, growths, and marks that she found. The scribe was seated behind a screen. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. She used a lighted magnifier to examine some of my moles up close. Good news: she didn’t find anything worrisome and said I should come back in a year (or sooner if something concerns me or I see any changes). She can use today’s notes as a reference.
I highly recommend this 100% check, as melanomas can be found in lots of places, even in the genital area.
ThelmaLou - I am glad you did this. You have some peace-of-mind now that a professional has looked you over.
I had to change dermatologists as my previous one retired. Two weeks ago, the new one gave me an initial exam, and ended-up plucking-off a couple of moles from my back, and send them to biopsy. One was clean, and the other had some cells they did not like, so tomorrow I am going back to have a larger margin removed and biopsied to ensure they get all of it. Given my history with melanoma, I don’t mind being extra vigilant here.
I encourage everyone reading this thread to go get a baseline mole check like ThelmaLou did, with a dermatologist (not your PCP), just to be sure you are not walking around with a time-bomb in your skin.
This is another issue that really bothers me. A decent dermatologist should do a complete skin check if requested (they may not do it if you just come in for something like acne). The local hospital used to offer a free skin check one day a year and I volunteered to be a checker but they told us to just ask what the patient wanted checked and only examine that and exposed areas. I stopped doing it and I tell my patients it’s not worth it since I’ve usually already done a more complete exam.I really do think some doctors don’t actually look at patients and I certainly wouldn’t trust one who told somebody a scaly red patch was benign from across the room. One of my patients saw a local dermatologist for itching and was told he had dry skin. He then came to me and I pointed out that his “dry skin” was moving (he had lice-although I still don’t know how he got public lice only on his arms), In any case, find a good dermatologist or even a good primary care MD (who should be able to pick up anything suspicious) and if you feel an exam wasn’t thorough, get a second opinion.
Thanks for the validation. An all over mole checkup is one of those things that’s completely painless and pretty non-invasive (except when they peer at your privates for a few seconds), as opposed to, say, a colonoscopy. It’s so easy, and people ought to Just Do It. Especially those of us who grew up in the era when “working on your tan” was considered a legitimate way to spend your summer.
Hope you get the All Clear, snowthx.