Abnormal mole (test resaults)??

[Marne]

Hi, i had the top of a large mole removed 5 weeks ago, GP sent it off to be tested, was told 'if you hear nothing within 2 weeks then all is ok'. So today i get a letter in the post saying i have to have the rest of the mole removed as recommended by the department of histology as they feel it is appropriate to remove the rest. It says not to panick (easier said then done), so i'm booked in to have it removed in hospital in a few weeks time. Letter is a bit vague so i don't have a clue what they have found, i'm trying not to panick but worried about it being cancerous. If it is what will happen (treatment) if its not will they just remove it and that will be it??
Anyone else had a similar expereance (good or bad)??

I'm pretty damn sure that if it was malignant, you'd have been told sooner. Please don't panic.

There are different sorts of abnormal moles. Most of them don't change quickly.
Dad had Basal Cell carcinoma, Squamous Cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. Now, DO NOT PANIC on seeing those names! They aren't cancer as such.
The first one doesn't change. The second may change, and I think you may be anxious about the MM, which as I say, it's unlikely to be as it's been 5 weeks since the test.
(Sorry, I'm not explaining this too well - I'm not medical, just had lots of experience with my parents and my DD. Amongst them they've had 4 different types of mole removal incidents.)

As far as I remember, the only treatment Dad received was for the MM, once it was removed.

Generally, once the others have been taken out there is no recurrence.

Thank you Peri, it has changed size and shape a lot over the past 2 years, i had it checked when i was 18 (it was then flat), then again last year after it had changed to being uneven, raised and darker, GP hardly looked at it and said it was fine, i then went back a few months ago and demanded to have it removed, gp could only remover the raised part as the rest covered a larger area (could not be done in the surgery and would leave a large scar) so GP took of the top and sent it off for tests. I spent a lot of time in the sun when i was younger with no sun protection, when i was 14 i got very badly sun burnt (blistered and couldn't move for days) my mole was bably burnt, so now i'm worrying. Fingers crossed its nothing to worry about.

It doesn't sound like my Dad's MM, truly. And it seems slow growing, so relax and get it removed to prevent any further changes. If you are worried, why not call the doc? Or try for an earlier appointment at the hospital? Anything for peace of mind!

I know i shouldn't google but it does (or did before they removed the top of it) look more like melanoma (dark eneven around the edges, raise part in the middle).

I have no direct experience but a friend recently had a mole that had changed very quickly, removed. They took one look at it and made her have it taken off without even going home for a bit to get used to the idea . They did it there and then. That was MM, but seems not to have gone deep. She has just {last week) had a follow-up visit where they took some extra skin from around the site. So she is now pretty sore, but has been reassured that no further treatment is likely to be necessary.

That is meant to be reassuring, by the way. But if you need more, call your GP or the hospital, who should be able to fill you in on the specifics of your own case.

Thank you cakesandale, hopfully once it has been removed there will be more treatment although i am now worried as there is another mole near it which is identical (but slightly smaller), i have never really noticed it before as its in a place that i cant easily see (lower back), i have quite a lot of moles, maybe i will need to get a few others checked?

If they are worried about one, they will automatically ask to check over every other one you have. They are very, very careful, which can make you panic, but it is designed to make sure you have the best possible outcome.

The trouble with a shave biopsy (which your GP did) is that it makes it hard to gauge the proper depth of any dodgy cells.

So perhaps there is something not quite right about the top bit, possibly pre-cancerous/ sort of 'on the turn', or maybe it is something funny (not dangerous but just a bit odd/more likely to change to cancerous at some point than an ordinary mole) and they just want to check that there isn't anything else going on inside the rest of it.

I think if you had been disgnosed with melanoma from the bit that was removed they would have a duty to tell you this or at least get you in under the two week rule.

If the letter is vague it probably is good news...but don't quote me on that!
I would make another appointment with the GP who did the original procedure and A) tell him off BIG TIME for doing a shave biopsy as it's not recommended at all these days (can have a huge bearing on prognostics/treatment plan if it IS melanoma, as these things depend on knowing the depth) and B) demand to know what the histology showed so far.

Very best of luck.

if there was any doubt at all your GP should not have touched it but referred you to dermatology - naughty that.

Squamous skin cell carcinoma IS cancer, PeriPathetic.

I know, I've had it.

yes the types of cancer named are all, erm, types of cancer.

Basal rarely metastasises and is the least serious. Squamous may metastasise but it's unusual. MM is really heavy stuff though in most cases it is shallow enough not to return or spread.

It's the times when it's left too long (and this varies as to how long is too long, depending on its aggressiveness and subtype) that it spreads and can be lethal either very quickly or after a good many years of no apparent problems.

HTH