Yet another cancer???
I was diagnosed with a supposedly benign bone tumor in my hand when I was 27. It was removed then and grafted, with good margins, but it came back 9 years later. Another surgeon removed it again, but it grew back for a 3rd time 3 years later. The surgeon insisted it had to be benign (because bone tumors in the hand are almost always benign) but then it reappeared again only a few months later. At that point I insisted on seeing an oncologist, who was shocked that it had been diagnosed as benign. He told me its history alone indicated it was malignant, and that 4th tumor resulted in amputation of part of my dominant hand when I was in my mid-40s. It was eventually diagnosed as a sarcoma.
Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my early 60s, in a routine mammogram. My onc tested for various genetic conditions that could cause multiple primary cancers, but nothing turned up. I finished treatment for that about a year and a half ago.
Since then I've had multiple cancer scares. Bumps that turned out to be just scar tissue and so on. But a few months ago I found an unfamiliar mole on my lower hip. I don't know why, but it took a couple of months for me to realize that I really should have someone look at it, so I asked my internist to take a look last week in a routine appointment. She said I should see a dermatologist and have it biopsied.
And I'm surprised by how scared I suddenly am. I don't know why I didn't think about the possibility of cancer when I first saw it, because it has all the characteristics they associate with melanoma— asymmetry, multiple colors, indistinct borders, and larger-than-normal size. Sometimes my own ability to shut my thinking down surprises me.
I can't get seen in my dermatologist's office for over 2 months. My internist doesn't seem to see this as urgent in any way. I called my former onc, who said when I finished treatment to let him know if any cancer-related issues came up. His new nurse called me back (with a party going on in the background apparently) and seemed massively unconcerned. She saw no problem with waiting that long, but I can see medical recommendations online not to wait longer than 2 weeks to get a possible melanoma biopsied, because they can grow rapidly. I feel dismissed, and honestly, surprisingly scared.
Do any of you have similar experiences? Is melanoma risk increased after breast cancer? And is it problematic to wait this long for a biopsy? I know I've already waited more than 2 months to get the mole evaluated, which is really weighing on my mind. My uncle had a bad melanoma, so I know the risks of that form of cancer.
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Hi @fairchild, I'm sorry that you're dealing with another possible cancer scare. There seems to a link between breast cancer and melanoma, especially if it occurs in the radiation field. Nodular melanoma can be very aggressive but the more superficial skin lesion type is less so.
Two months is pretty quick for a dermatologist appointment where I live. My PCP sent a photo of a skin lesion to the hospital dermatology department and that was used as triage to schedule an appointment. Maybe you could send a photo to the dermatologist's office so that you will be seen sooner if it looks serious. I hope it turns out to be inconsequential.
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Hi @fairchild
If you look at my sig line, you'll see that I'm also a member of the multiple crap club. I now have something growing in my spine that is PROBABLY benign, but needs to be removed and sent to pathology for final determination. I'm not sure I want to know. Ignorance may not be bliss, but it's sometimes easier to live with. I've been putting off dermatology visits for about 5 years, and ignoring anything that shows up, or designating them as age spots, even though i had to have a rather large MOHS surgery on my face about 8 years ago for a messy basal cell thingie (theyre kind of in the "just barely" league of cancers, but deforming if not treated). I hope you're smarter than I am and get yours checked out as soon as your other doctors cooperate. I've found, though, that most of these things that need to be checked out and then dealt with aren't quite as urgent as we think they are, but I think Maggie's advice to send a photo is a great idea.
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@maggie15 and @alicebastable, many thanks for your quick responses! Just having someone respond, someone who understands how stressful this is, is massively helpful. I think what really upset me was that the nurse at my onc's office was so dismissive and ill-informed, when their staff has never been that way. That practice has been my safe space, where I know I'll get really good information and treatment. Anyway, I called dermatologists yesterday until I could find one that could get me in sooner, and I have an appointment now with someone on January 8th, which is a heck of a lot sooner. In the meantime, I'll leave in 2 days to visit my adult children and their spouses, and I'm hoping that the trip will help me stop thinking about it so much.
This process of repeated cancer scares is really difficult, isn't it? @alicebastable, I completely understand why you would put off dermatology after an experience like that! In the 1st year after chemotherapy, I had 3 scares: a lump under my arm that they thought might be cancer (it wasn't), a spot in my brain on CT that they thought was a tumor (it also wasn't), and then a growth on an ovary along with a spike in a tumor marker that resulted in my having to have my ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed. (They were fine.) That was all in the first year after treatment. I managed okay through all of that, but I hated every minute of it, and I suspect I just didn't realize the mole could be a problem because my brain just kind of shuts down when this happens. For me, waiting for diagnosis has been far worse in terms of stress than actually actually being told that I had cancer. I hope you get the results on your spine as quickly as possible and that it's good news. I'll be thinking of you!
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So I got an appointment this morning with the NP at another dermatology practice to get this mole evaluated. The guy was really nice, but as soon as he saw the mole he said he thought it is melanoma. I guess that shouldn't surprise me, because even I could see that the mole matched pictures of melanoma I've seen online. But I was shocked that he said it out loud, before the biopsy results are in.
It could be another 10 days before the pathology report is in. He said he'll call me as soon as he gets it. Meanwhile, I'm a little surprised by the amount of anxiety I feel. I just would really rather not descend into the world of cancer again. If it is melanoma, it'll be the 3rd type of primary cancer I've had….
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