Dr. Robinson 2, moles 0
Tuesday December 2, I visit the dermatologist for a routine skin check, which I do every six months.Dr. Robinson biopsies two moles from my back.
Wednesday December 3, Dr. Robinson calls to inform me that one of the moles is a melanoma.”Malignant,” “cancer,” words you don’t expect to hear at 35.That’s the bad news.The good news is that the melanoma is at the earliest stage, and if he takes the mole off and gets the entire site, that’s the end of it.
Thursday December 4, Dr. Robinson chops out both moles: sketchy Lesion A, and evil rogue The Notorious Lesion B, which requires him to cut away a centimeter on all sides and down to the muscle layer underneath.Robbie feels confident that he’d gotten the whole thing.
Friday December 5, Mr. S took off the pressure dressing.More than 50 stitches greeted him.The photo is after the jump, and is not gory or anything; it looks kind of like eyebrows on my back, actually.
There is also good news after the jump, so take a deep breath and go for it.
Tuesday December 9, I call in for my lab results.I don’t expect to hear anything bad, but it’s still a huge relief when the nurse calls back and says, “He got it.”I had a melanoma in situ, Robbie took off the whole situ, done, thank you, goodbye.
Now, I have to go in for skin checks every three months, and I have to have various tests also — not to make sure it hasn’t spread, because it basically can’t have, but to provide a baseline (I could explain the concept in more depth, but it’s not interesting; just trust me when I tell you that Sloan-Kettering is not involved and it’s just maintenance).
But everything’s more or less fine.The stitches came out yesterday; I can sit straight in a chair again now, instead of leaning saucily; I don’t have to have radiation treatments or anything.I had a skin cancer, and now I don’t.
So, it’s not really a big deal, but at the same time, it is, because melanoma is really easy to head off, but really really a bitch to fight once it gets a foothold, so please, do not let it get a foothold.If you have any moles at all, please visit a dermatologist and get them looked at, and if the doctor thinks you should come in regularly to have them checked, DO IT.Don’t blow off the appointment, don’t rely on friends to tell you whether a freckle “looks weird” — go to the doctor.That renegade mole was on my back; I didn’t see it changing, I didn’t know it looked funny, I couldn’t see that little bastard at all, and if I didn’t go to the dermatologist regularly, it would have done its thing and who knows when I would have caught it, or whether we could have stopped it.
Not sure whether you need to go?Go anyway.Bring your kids, too; the moles that keep blowing up on me come from sunburns I got twenty-five years ago.Put SPF 30 sunscreen MINIMUM on yourself and your children every day, even in the winter, even when it’s cloudy.Don’t go to tanning beds, ever.Don’t lay out between 10 and 2; don’t lay out at all, actually, it’s boring and bad for you.Don’t think that because you have dark skin, it will save you; it doesn’t always.
I don’t want anyone to lie awake nights obsessing over their beauty marks, but seriously, a very minor amount of diligence here, an hour out of your life to go to a dermatologist and make sure you aren’t at risk, could make a huge huge difference.Nobody wants to become that person who goes to various doctors once a week and gets all Howard Hughes about things; “trying not to die” is not “living.”But neither is remaining in denial about a mole that’s turning blue or shape-shifting…or a mole you can’t even see.Maybe you don’t have moles, and that’s fine.I have hundreds.Dr. Robinson is on their shit like a vice-principal.I don’t love the stitches and the peroxide lavage or any of that hassle, but it beats melanoma.And I mean it literally beats it.A mole looks dodgy, you take it off.Done.Better luck next time, tiny jackass.
Get yourselves a Dr. Robinson.Get yourselves this one, if you want — that’s Dr. Bruce Robinson on East 60th in Manhattan.His staff is excellent, he’s got coffee and nibbles in the waiting room, and he’s a warm, friendly guy who spends as much time with patients as they need — and he does not mess around.You shouldn’t either.
To reiterate: I am fine.Robbie got the whole thing, because Robbie is the man.I don’t want you to freak out, not about me.But if one person gets freaked out a little, and goes into have her skin looked at, and finds a mole that looks kooky and gets it taken off, and is fine as a result, or if one person is like, “I hate how greezy SPF 60 is but I guess it’s worth it”?Awesome.You can’t go around afraid of little rando shit like this all the time, but you can be aware, and if you’re aware, you’ll be fine too.
I ain’t going out on a fucking mole, my friends, and none of you should either.Get ’em checked.
My heartfelt thanks to the nursing team of Mr. S and Skyrockets, who had to dress the stitches because I couldn’t reach, and to Dr. Robinson’s Scalpel of Swift Justice.
Tags: Dr. Robinson rules moles drool photo essay PSAs
Sars, I’m really glad that you’re doing okay; thanks for the important reminder.
My derm is a rock star, and whenever I see her, she reminds me to: (a) have someone at home check my back once a month (because, as you know, it’s hard to see for yourself); (b) let my hairdresser know that I have a family history of melanoma, so she can check my head when she’s doing her thing; (c) also let my gyno know; and (d) also let my dentist know (I also stayed away from the dentist for 12 years, so I hear you, Sars, but it was actually not so bad once I went).
It’s obviously important to check yourself, but it’s also helpful to have other people looking out for you, as well.
My derm was training a young doctor named (no shit) Dr. No.
I literally could not help myself, and said, “mmmmSoIGuessYouGetThatALotHuh.” He was thoroughly unamused. He got the last laugh though, since I got to show both him and the regular derm, under a fluorescent light (wtf derm?) the mole on my pale and ripply ass.
On a down-er note, the derm never let me know whether the mole he removed was fine or not (…no news is good news?), and now the fucker is growing back in the same exact spot after a thoroughly unpleasant healing period.
I want an eagle-eye derm, not someone I have to point stuff out to. Anyone have any Boston recs?
Ang: I know how frustrating that is! If you feel like trying to make another appt., tell the receptionist that you’d be willing to see a physician assistant in the office if an M.D. isn’t available. Physician assistants can diagnose, prescribe, and do biopsies if necessary. It worked for me. (I have the complexion of my dad, who is very fair and prone to many moles, so access to derm services is critical.)
Sars: I am SO GLAD that you took the steps you did, that you have Robbie on your team, and that you’re telling your readers to be proactive about heading off skin cancer.
I do it because I have. I take after my 71-year-old dad, who is Mole Man, as I told Ang. He has so many precancerous lesions that he has a standing derm appt. once a month to zap the new ones that keep cropping up.
But you’re right — nobody is exempt from developing melanoma, not even those among us who are blessed with more melanin. So, thanks for the heads-up.
@Lamoshe: Darnit, now you’re making me REALLY have to schedule an appointment. I’ve got a funny whitish bump on my arm that I’ve been cheerfully ignoring to the point where I actually forgot about it even after reading this post the first time.
Time to get my ass back to the doctor and thence to the dermo. Right After the holidays.
Good on you, Sars, and good on Dr. Robinson as well. Good news all around!
hip hip m’fing hooray. kick that cancer’s ass something swift and hard, Sars. and thanks for the PSA. my friends out there who know i’m here – i got a great derm two doors down. see me.
@Sars, go to the dentist. I know, I know. I am absolutely freakin’ phobic about the dentist after a nasty incident where two fully impacted wisdom teeth were removed with only novocaine…just imagine the crunching sound of teeth and bone while you’re wide awake with tears streaming down your face. Not good.
But a couple of years ago I finally found a dentist that would prescribe me valium just so I’d get in for a cleaning. Now every six months I pick up my valium Rx, and every six months I get my teeth cleaned and checked out. Still not diligent about flossing, but at least I’m getting a professional in there to do the heavy lifting on a regular basis.
Wishing I were not in the Land of Socialized Medicine where a referral to a derm takes at least a year and that’s if you actually HAVE a problem and are not just looking to prevent one. Hate. I will have to rely on my spouse and GP to keep an eye out I guess. :P
Just this: I’m glad you’re okay. I lost a friend to melanoma at 28. So it’s not all about getting old.
Well, you got at least one person to pick up the phone and make the appointment.
Big ugly moles were just one of the genetic gifts from my parents, but luckily so far they’ve just been big and ugly and never started any trouble. I’ve had five removed in the past mostly for cosmetic purposes and the lab results have always come back negative. Now I’ve got a couple moles on my neck that have been there basically my whole life that have decided to get a bit bigger recently, but I still wasn’t sweating it too much since two other moles I had removed had grown and they were okay, and these moles still pass the “ABCD” self-exam test. So I’ve been putting off the appointment for a while now. But no more – your post reminded that you just never know.
So I’ve got an appointment two weeks from now and a doctor who (hilariously) confessed to me that she loves to cut things off. No point in putting off something that doesn’t take a lot of effort and may save me a lot of trouble in the long run. Thanks for the reminder, Sars, and I’m glad that you caught your renegade mole in plenty of time.
Blah! Ok, so you talked me into it.
I just made an appointment with my doctor, so that he can refer me to another doctor to get a mole check (how rediculous is that?)
So, I’ll have an appointment on the 29th of December and then probably in February or later I’ll get to see a dermatologist. Ugh.
But, thanks. I needed the kick in the butt.
P.S. I can’t spell today, I guess.
I’ve always had moles here or there growing up and have always kept an eye on them. I did finally go to a derm a few years ago (about a rash that turned out to be something simple and ewww, not like THAT) but while I was there, I had HIM check the moles. Since he’s a professional and all. He said nothing looked sketchy but that he could “zap” them for me if I wanted him to. So he did. I feel better not having to worry about them, although I do have one that seems to be growing on my chin. I’m afraid it’s going to sprout a hair and make me look all old lady witch like. With that all said, I AM GLAD TO HEAR YOU ARE FINE! :)
Congrats on losing the evil moles!
BUT- does anyone have a face cream that contrains spf but isn’t so thick that one can’t put make-up on over it?
Finding good skin creams with spf is a serious goal of mine- my skin is so white, I get chased by ladies with bronzers in department stores. My glow in the dark legs scare small children.
So if anyone has a recommendation, I would sure love to hear it.
Someone near and dear to me also recently had a melanoma removed, and it finally got me in for a check. Which, I have to say, was much less bad than I anticipated. The doctor immediately realized that (1) I have very few moles, and (2) I have gotten very little sun. Looked everything over, looked at a few things and said, “Normal mole, normal mole, normal mole,” and gave me the all-clear. Said I probably didn’t need to come back for two years, but I’m going back in a year anyway, because it’s just not a high price to pay for a very big potential benefit. Also, as I said at the time, this is the one time a doctor will ever be thrilled that you’ve spent a lot of time inside watching TV. Many things about me are not so awesome, but I have the upper back of an infant.
There are a lot of cancers it’s still very hard not to lose people to; this one can often be avoided. Sarah is so right: go and have somebody take a look. And I totally agree with the people who say that if you need to in order to get it approved, just say you have a mole you want looked at. If you have a single mole on your body that a derm has never looked at and you’re an adult, it makes perfect sense for you to consider that a mole you want looked at. DON’T BE SHY.
The one time I went in to get a mole checked out, the doctor was extremely rude to me and blew me off, and was all, “I’ll take it off and get it checked if you want, but this is really stupid of you to want to.”
*grumble*
Well, it turned out to be nothing, but so sue me if a bunch of relatives were having health issues at the time and I figured I might be next to get the jinx? The HMO’s website said if anything looked remotely funny to come on in, and I did.
I’m 34 and just had melanoma surgery this July. I’ve been blessed with the moley skin as well. Had a few taken off, but only had one ever come back as “pre-cancerous”. No idea what that even meant, but I’ve always been fairly good about going once a year for a mole-check. Not as vigilant about sunscreen as I should be, but I always slather it on when I go to the beach. When I’m just running around doing errands, not so much, even though I know better. Anyway, I skipped going to the derm last year because of money concerns and procrastination. I finally went this summer, and he ended up taking off a mole on my arm that even he didn’t think was cancerous. I had a little mole on my inner arm that had been there for years, and two years ago a second little mole popped up almost directly on top of the first one. I didn’t think anything of it other than it was new. He only took it off because there was a teeny-tiny millimeter of skin between the two moles that was pink. Pink apparently means your body is trying to attack something it doesn’t like. Very, very lucky I have a derm that was so observant and cautious enough just to go ahead and take it off. Sure enough, got the call telling me it was melanoma and I had surgery a week later. I watched the whole thing and got photos, so I got to impress/horrify everyone with pictures of my arm flayed open. Heh. They theoretically got everything, as it was very shallow and hadn’t spread to the edges of the 1 inch diameter they cut out. Now I have a lovely jagged 4 inch long scar down the inside of my arm. I was telling people I was in a knife fight, but after swimming Alcatraz this fall now I’m going with shark bite.
Everyone, get your asses in to the dermatologist and get checked over!!!!
Cij – you should try Clinique Super City Block sun block. It is a bit thicker than most lotions for your face, but I’ve had no trouble with wearing makeup over it and I try to wear it every day (I do wear it in the summer, but tend to slack off when the clouds roll in). I don’t think it could replace your regular moisturizer, but rather works as something you put on top of it.
And it really, really works – when I was in Mexico this past spring I got burnt just about everywhere on my body (despite the religious use of sunscreen) except my face. It’s good stuff and isn’t super-expensive.
To the patient of Dr. No: try Skin Care Physicians on Boylston St. in Chestnut Hill. There are several docs in the practice, not sure who is or is not accepting new patients, but I have been very pleased.
Cij – I adore, adore, adore Neutrogena’s Age Shield sunblock. I have to use a light moisturizer before I apply to help it absorb, but it’s awesome.
I recommend wearing regular sunscreen with your makeup over it, because the SPF ratings on face creams are notoriously unreliable. I really like Neutrogena SPF 55 (the SPF 60 and 70 has a different texture and is kind of slick)– it is thick but not slimy and disappears into my skin within seconds. I wear Bobbi Brown tinted moisturizer over it and am very happy.
It looks like Sars’ back is winking at us! Glad to hear that all is well and thanks for the psa.
Love my derm, have had several suspicious moles shaved off, none (so far) have proven to be anything worse than just weird looking moles.
However, since having a mole removed from just under my chin the remaining scar has taken to sprouting one thick, long black hair, apparently overnight, on an irregular basis. I check this area quite obsessively–7pm on Saturday night, no hair. Noon on Sunday, hair. Like nearly an inch long. Which makes me think it was growing all along, and sort of curving along my jawline so as to be invisible except in direct sunlight, just waiting to be long enough to make an unscheduled *boing* at next Monday’s Staff Meeting.
I’ve enlisted Hubby in Chin Hair Watch, and he claims to never see anything. Sigh. Singular chin hair, why do you taunt me?
I have had two moles removed (one of which left a gnarly scar, and is right on my ass, THANKS, MOLE), and I’ve always had standing appointments with a derm for acne drama, so a couple years ago I started asking him to look at my moles all the time. He has some kind of MOLE-O-SCOPE that apparently magnifies the cell structure or something — it is truly amazing.
Question, Sars – do you have issues with scarring from the moles you’ve had taken off? I had two done a while back, and one of them (the one on my right breast, unfortunately) sprouted a ridiculously ugly and large raised scar. I am ashamed to admit that that’s why I haven’t been back to the derm since. I keep meaning to check into other derms (I don’t like mine for other reasons also) but do you have suggestions for preventing post-mole-removal scarring?
I’m very, very glad you’re OK.
Glad you’re OK, Sars.
Cij — I love this stuff (it also comes in a non-shimmery version): http://tinyurl.com/6e7t43
Fragrance-free and non-PABA, FTW!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, SARS, for the public service announcement. I’m so, so glad you’re okay and that you’re posting about this, too, because people just do not take moles or skin cancer as seriously as they should. My dad is a dermatologist (and if you live near La Crosse, Wisconsin/Rochester, Minnesota – Mayo Clinic – then go get yourself an appointment with Dr. Michael White and tell him his daughter sent you!) and I have spent my whole life getting furiously lathered with sunscreen by my parents. My coworkers and boyfriend comment all the time on what a pasty goth-looking girl I am, but guess what: it beats the pants off skin cancer. Melanoma is Srs Biznizz. (Also, I like being pale, but that might just be me.)
A note for everyone: You NEED to wear sunscreen on cloudy days. Cloud cover actually filters the healthy vitamin-D wavelengths of the sun out but allows the skin-damaging cancer-causing UV radiation to get through. You don’t have to get a burn to be suffering skin damage. I hate to get all end-of-the-world on people, but sunscreen is a LOT better than it used to be (I like Banana Boat myself because it’s not too greasy and has a nice smell) and if you MUST have that sexy tan, use self-tanner. PLEASE.
Mine is a tiny soapbox and I’m off it now. Sorry guys!
I’m glad you’re okay, Sars! (Well, you are always MORE THAN okay in my book, but, you know, okay health-wise.)
Sars! Congrats on beating the -oma! I am so happy to hear you propping up people going to the dermo. I had an itchy bump on my hip that was giving me the heebs, and it was completely nothing (sometimes people develop bumps from small injuries, like a bug bite or something, that can turn itchy and red and still completely normal), but so reassuring to have the peace of mind.
Also, I third or fourth the dentist thing. Basically I hate going because I don’t like being lectured about my tooth care, and I recently went to a new dentist, and basically told everyone there pre-emptively, “Look, can we stipulate that I should floss better? I know it, and you now know I know it, so how about we skip the lecture?” Everyone at the office did exactly that and it was the best dental appointment I’ve ever had.
@Cij: many drug store moisturizers, like Oil ofOlay, Neutrogena, etc., have good SPF. My dermo recommended anything with Helioplex in it, and Neutrogena has a couple of products with that in it (the one I’m using now is 45 SPF with Helioplex). These are facial moisturizers, so if you put it on and give it a couple minutes, you should be able to put makeup on over it, not like a heavy Banana Boat sunscreen or something. YMMV, since I don’t know what kind of skin you have, but start reading labels for SPF and other skin care ingredients. Bonus- you can use it on hands, neck and decolletage and that should be all the sunscreen you need for a normal winter day (unless you’re in Miami or something), and they make your skin look fabulous.
Thanks Sars. You’ve opened my eyes and I called this afternoon for an appointment. It’s still at the end of January, but what can I do about that? I don’t like dermatologists in general because I find they always seem in a hurry. I’ve been to four different in my life and I guess the one I have now is not so bad. He actually took the time to explain certain things last time I was there.
I have few big moles, so that should be quick, but I have one on my back that I really can’t see and it bothers me a bit.
Cij – I adore Aveeno’s Positively Radiant Moisturizer with SPF 15. I’m EXTREMELY dry, so I prefer the thicker cream, but it goes on beautifully and I can apply makeup (Bare Minerals, also with an SPF factor) within a few minutes.
Most wonderful Sars, OUCH!! I hope you taught the furry-purrys how to scratch your back for you! I’m SUPER happy that you are good to go! I’m way overdue for my mole patrol, but thank God for sisters!
I wish you and the furry palace a very happy holiday!! Thank you for everything you’ve shared this year! Here’s hoping for a good 2009!!
@ADS: I have scarring; I don’t really have issues with it. First of all, they’re in spots that aren’t very visible, most of them. Second of all, the reason my stitch volume is always so high is that Robbie takes many, tinier stitches so it doesn’t scar as much. Third of all, if he gets the whole nasty thing I don’t so much care what it looks like afterwards. He could have replaced my entire shoulderblade with Folgers crystals this time for all I gave a shit — just get the malignant part out with room to spare.
So, my scars are visible, and are clearly scars, but generally aren’t raised because he takes a bunch of stitches sub-Q and then makes tiny little ones on the top. I have a couple of tissue bumps at the edges of one of them, but it’s not painful, so: enh, I don’t do anything about it.
Ask your dermatologist if there’s an OTC cream or home remedy s/he can suggest, but if it’s raised tissue, my sense is that you have to have it re-resected; I wouldn’t be bothering with that, but that’s just me.
So, I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you talked me into making an appointment for the dreaded dermotologist, I figured I’d bring the dentist thing back up.
Make an appointment to see the dentist. I had a horrible phobia, but found a really great place (after not going for over 6 years) and they are wonderful and reassuring and go slow and KNOW that I might freak out, but they’re ok with that.
Plus, ya know, NOTHING makes you OLDER than a set of false teeth. Hee!
Oh, ADS, I feel your pain. No, seriously, I do – I, too, had a melanoma in the same area, and apparently my dermatologist took it out with a rusty grapefruit spoon. Took a dart in the skin, my right breast was an inch and a half higher than the left UNTIL THE SCAR STRETCHED. Raised, red, and horrific. Go to your dermatologist for “followup wound care” – what mine did was shoot steriods into the scar, followed up with the red/laser used for rosacea (which I also have. Love you, Skin!). This means fixing the scar should be covered by your insurance. The doctor who’s been treating mine was capering around the office last time I went (down to laser/no steroid), saying he wished he’d taken “before” and “after” pictures, he was so happy. Well, I wish I’d had a plastic surgeon take that mole off, myself, but I have to say that it is definitely 100% better, maybe much more. Now it just depresses me when I see it. It was definitely Frankenscar before, and it made me very unhappy about having the mole removed. So: 1. The scar can be made much much much better; and 2. Sometimes it’s better to have a plastic surgeon take off the ones on the face or bosom.
Sars, I’m glad you’re winning the Mole Wars.
Ugh, I should note that I was going every month/every other month for the first year. And I will be the first to admit that 1. Having steroids shot into a fresh hurty area was not fun; and 2. having the laser tzzzip! tzzzip! tzzzip! the hurty area after it had a needle stuck into it wasn’t super either. But it was worth the toothgritting I did for the improvement in that nasty, ridged, raised, huge scar on my breast. Do remember to sunblock that little perisher every time you go outside, summer and winter.
I’m very glad that the news was (in the end) good.
And let me second the ‘dark skin will not save you’ message. I am an olive-skinned, half-mexican girl. I have the kind of skin that just tans, no matter how much sun it is exposed to. I can count on one hand the number of times I have had a sunburn in the 30 years I ignored sunblock completely.
And I got a squamous cell carcinoma right on my forehead, near the hairline. Not as dangerous as a melanoma – but, you know, skin cancer. Not the most dangerous type, but not the least dangerous either. It looked just like a zit that wouldn’t dry up or go away.
My own mother and her best friend, both nurses, looked at it and had no idea why I had such a weird persistent pimple. NOBODY suspected cancer. I spent ages treating it with acne medication and anything else I could think of. I am very, very lucky that it didn’t decide to metastasize, as squamous cell carcinomas can do when left untreated.
Skin cancer isn’t just for palefaces. Skin cancer isn’t just for those who get sunburns. And, skin cancer doesn’t always look like a mole.
Your original post about moles and the dermatologist helped convince myself that *I* needed to go. No bad moles, but they could easily could be.
So thank you for that original post…
p.s. thank you for teaching the world “oh I am such a hurty cat”. Comedy gold…I use it on my cats all the time.
An ex-boyfriend of mine found a large mole (about 1cm diameter) near my girly parts. It was removed and deemed pre-cancerous as a few others had been before. That was several years ago and I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t been to a derm since. Thanks, Sars, for the reminder to get my moley self in for a look-see.
Aveeno has a great mousturizer + SPF, “Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer Spf 30”
http://tinyurl.com/6mpvoj
Totally non-greasy. I can’t claim to notice the radiance, but it is not greasy. I put it on over acne medication after it has dried, but I don’t know how it works pre-makeup since I don’t wear any.
Sars, I’m glad you are okay!
And suddenly, across the nation, there’s an upswing of people calling dermatology offices demanding to be seen and their moles being examined in a serious, thorough and respectful manner.
My general doctor is pretty cool. When I’ve been in for physicals and been all, can you look at this and that and check my scoliosis, etc. He does and never with an impatient sigh or sideways dismissive glance.
Okay, appointment scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I have about eleventy-million moles, so I’m interested to see how long it takes.
Congrats on beating the moles and good on you for the take no prisoners attitude.
Also, thank you for getting me up off my butt and to the phone to make an appointment. Consider your karma quotient filled today. I have been meaning to make that 2 minute call for weeks now and your post got me past the intertia. Now to continue mole patrol until the appointment!
Cjj: I use Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer with SPF 30. I don’t wear much foundation-type makeup (when I do, I use Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturizer, which also has SPF, and Loose Powder, but I don’t do so regularly), because a) I have pretty even, blemish-free skin and b) even when I have blemishes, I don’t like feeling like I have stuff on my face. I wear the Aveeno Moisturizer every day and it always feels light, even on the stankiest NYC August days. I also like it because it has soy in it, which is a natural skin-brightener.
I’m African-American, with a caramel-colored complexion, and I’ve never had a sunburn – I tan really easily but never burn. But I am religious about wearing sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and not laying out, because why take the chance? I have a few small moles on my chest and when one of them got a little bigger, I had it checked out. I’ve heard many people say things like “Why bother? Black people don’t get skin cancer,” which is bullshit.
Another reason to stay out of the tanning bed: that Doritos coloring is not cute. It just isn’t. No tanning bed tan in the history of ever has ever looked like an “I just got back from Turks and Caicos” tan, period, and it ages you really quickly. I met an orange nineteen-year-old that I would have guessed was my age (28).
@Sars @ADS: ADS, it is also possible that your scar tissue is a keloid, which pretty much by definition is the formation of excess scar tissue. Some people are more prone to developing them, and they can run in families. I would check with your dermo about yours and see if you have any options that aren’t crazy. For example, radiation is one option for treating a keloid – but my guess is that if your keloid formed at the former site of a questionable or cancerous mole, radiation would be contraindicated.
Some dermatologists recommend creams or gels that you can apply to new scar sites to reduce scar tissue formation, and some will inject a steroid into new scar tissue to prevent keloid formation. I don’t know if there are a lot of options once a full-on keloid has formed.
I have several keloids on my legs and back from injuries, particularly bad zits (seriously!), and prior mole removals, including one at 13. Keloids are generally supposed to flatten and smooth out over time, and mine have generally improved – except for that one from age 13.
The best thing to do is talk to a dermatologist you’re comfortable with about your scar, find out if it’s likely you’ll develop keloids in the future, and manage your care with your doctor from there. My current dermatologist, knowing that I’ll throw a big scar, is not aggressive with the scalpel – she prefers hypervigilance and prevention. She will not take a mole off in 2008 on the chance it will be a basal cell carcinoma in 2028. Some MDs may have different approaches. Believe me, if something looks cancerous under her mole-o-scope, she will take it off, and like Sars, I don’t care how ugly that site looks when she’s done, I want to be rid of that piece of cancer. But I have gone to her with several scary-looking moles, and she’s looked at them and said, “it’s not cancer. It sure is ugly, but it’s not cancer. I can take it off if you want me to, but I don’t recommend it.”
Anyway, point being, as somebody in a similar situation as you, I would recommend finding a dermatologist you’re comfortable with, talking to them about your scar, seeing if you have any options for treating its appearance, but most importantly going forward with your new MD with a good plan for keeping your skin healthy.
sheesh, when you said something earlier about having a guest vine cos exciting things were afoot, I thought you would follow up with a wedding announcement or a baby or another move or kittens… Sucky thing to have to go through, very glad you’re ok, and I’ll make an appointment I’ve been putting off for a yearish… (thanks for the heads-up)
I’m glad you’re OK, Sars! I need to go in for a physical anyway, so I’ll ask my doc to give my moles the once-over. My skin is kind of freckly, so this is probably a good idea anyway.
Love my dermatologist. If anyone is in the Mooresville, NC area – check out Dr. Wolfe. I never wait, the staff is wonderful, and he gives out samples when possible.
Also, at the end of the appointment, he gives you a lollipop! :)
He’s very good at calming my fears and never makes me feel like I came in for a stupid reason. I’m a diabetic, so I tend to rush in to him any time I get a rash or a bump and he always takes his time even when it turns out to be nothing.
Thank god, heavens and/or my lucky underpants that you’re okay. Bright side? You aren’t sick and have the experience early enough in your life that you’ll be uber-alert about taking excellent care of your meat suit (gross – sorry). Stay healthy. I’ll add you to what passes for my daily prayers. Some reader in Hawaii.
Sars, glad you’re ok. Also, I’m glad you’re spreading the word. It’s not something many people really think about, unless it’s affected their family or close friends.
Also, people need to stop making fun of people for being pale. My mom’s had skin cancer issues. One of my best friends had melanoma when she was 18 from too much tanning beds. I had a pre-cancerous bump removed from my face when I was 23. (I found out it’s hard to tell people you’re having surgery on your face, cause they think you’re being a smart ass and making a your face joke) Yes, everyone looks more attractive and healthier when they’re tanned, but it’s not worth it. It bothers me when people make fun of me for being pale. Even though I don’t talk about my mom or friend, when I had my surgery, it was obvious for a few weeks. Hello?! Face!
Also, if you can’t see all your moles and don’t feel comfortable having someone else check them, then have them removed now. It’s a fast procedure, doesn’t hurt too much, and doesn’t scar too bad.
Re: moisturizer- I second the person who recommended the Aveeno line. The SPF 15 is a true 15 and I find that if I put it on post shower and wait about 5 minutes, it’s absorbed and left me soft and smooth.