Skin Cancer Story Continued…
Once again, so sorry for all the delays in my blog posts. Perhaps you are on pins and needles waiting to hear about the mole biopsy I had last month. Here is the scoop:
The pathology report came back suggesting further investigation was necessary. Reading dermatology reports on the Internet, in my particular case and pathology reading, some derms excised and some did not. In my case, since the mole could potentially turn into melanoma, I didn’t want to risk it and took the doctor’s advice and had it reexcised.
What does that mean? It means that I went in a few weeks after the initial biopsy and the dermatologist made about an inch incision on my neck and scooped out more tissue to get tested, making sure all the questionable cells were removed. I cannot at this time (figure out why) I can’t get pictures to post here, so I have put a picture of the incision on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boulder-CO/Carolyn-Ash-Skin-Care/131912367520?ref=ts).
It is pretty unbelievable that literally a dot of a mole turned into a good inch of a scar on my neck. I was prepared there would be stitches, I know they have to make a bigger incision than you’d think, but I have to admit when I asked to see where the doctor had drawn on my neck, it was a bit of a shock. Thank goodness this wasn’t on my face! Yikes.
It just hits home information I have been saying for years: It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to getting funny-looking moles checked. The longer you wait, the more potential there is that you will be sporting a large scar where the mole was removed.
Make an appointment now with your dermatologist if you haven’t been in a year or more (or ever). Get a full body mole check and know you are doing yourself a huge favor in the process. You might be surprised to find out something needs to be removed.