In December 2018, my wife attended a dermatology appointment to discuss her PMLE (polymorphic light eruption). Following an examination of her skin and my wife pointing out a couple of moles to the doctor, she was referred for surgery the moles to be removed within two weeks and a biopsy conducted. She went for her surgery on New Year's Eve and had a mole from her back and leg removed. She was told that if the results came back clear, she would receive a phone call. My wife didn't receive a phone call and instead, she received a letter at the end of January asking her to come back to the dermatologist.
My wife and I attended the dermatologist for her results at the beginning of February and was told that her biopsy results had been discussed at a meeting with cancer specialists and determined she had something called 'spitzoid naevus'. She didn't really explain what this was, other than saying it is a "hyperactive mole". She stated that as they cannot be certain that it isn't melanoma due to the similarities between the two, she is being referred to a plastic surgeon to have more skin removed and sent for further tests.
My wife has already been left with a large scar on her back and on her leg and is now even more anxious that she is going to have those scars opened again and be left with even larger scars. For anyone who has been through a similar process, do the actions taken so far sound right? My wife hasn't had much confidence in her dermatology doctor whilst being treated for PMLE and having attended her last appointment with her, I have to agree.
I am now having sleepless nights, which I'm keeping from telling my wife as to not worry her, as I can't help but think that the doctor suspects she does, in fact, have cancer and is hiding that fact until further tests are conducted. I may be thinking into the situation too much as we are in the unknown but any advice or guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Zach
Hi and welcome to the online community
I'm sorry to hear that you are having sleepless nights and have lost confidence in your wife's consultant after she was diagnosed with a spitzoid naevus. If you click on the link I've created this will give you more information on this type of rare mole.
Sometimes it's very difficult for the pathology laboratories to tell if a mole is a melanoma or not. As you said, your wife's case was discussed at a multidisiplinary team meeting (MDT) and the conclusion was that it's better to treat it as a melanoma than not.
I'm not medically qualified but I was diagnosed with a melanoma two years ago and had the follow up operation, called a wide local excision (WLE), that your wife will be having. This is usually carried out under a local anaesthetic and up to 2cm of skin is removed around and below where the mole was. Having it done by a plastic surgeon is a good thing as their sewing skills are usually very good! My WLE was carried out just under two years ago and today you can barely see the scar. Mine was very big to start with but soon began to settle down.
As you will see if you click on the information about WLEs, they are done to make sure no stray cells have been left behind. Just like the original mole, the tissue will be sent to the pathology laboratories for testing to make sure it's all clear.
So to answer your question, yes all the actions taken so far seem correct! You're welcome to join us over in the melanoma group and clicking on the link will take you there. Just click on 'Join this group' on the page that opens.
Sending you and your wife my best wishes
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi , I noticed your post on the main site feed and I have to say you have received a great reply from my friend latchbrook but your post did ring some bells in the back of my mind.
In 1999 I developed a small rash on my back and eventually I was referred to Dermatology. It took a further year, 6+ biopsies, a few CT scans, a few MDT meetings and even my case being put out to other experts across the UK to eventually diagnose that I had a rare skin Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (a blood cancer) not skin cancer.
So the first 14 years of my 20 year treatment journey had me in Dermatology over 900 times for clinics and treatments. Did I trust my team - well yes. They are the experts and as the skin is the largest organ in/on the body it is very difficult to treat due to the rigours that it is put through and the fact that it regenerates every 27ish days.
20 years ago I was told that my condition was incurable and it would get me in the end....... fast forward 18 years - I am now in remission.
In these early days when I was first diagnosed the noise in my head was very loud and debilitating, but I very quickly came to understand that I had no real control over the medical stuff, I had to trust my team. But what I could do was control the battle in the brain. Indeed all the stress in the world would make no difference to the outcomes. But stress can make us ill and fatigued.
You need to keep asking her team questions, why, what, how..... to better understand and to keep your team on their toes.
Go over to the forum that latchbrook has highlighted as these folks have all walked journeys something the same. Its always good to talk with folks who have walked the walk.
It would be really useful if you could put something into your profile as this does help others when replying to you or for those looking for support and information as they can read a bit about your journey so far.
Just click on your username and then select 'Edit Profile' under the 'Profile Settings'. If you're not sure what sort of thing to put just click on my username, Thehighlander to read my profile but my journey was rather long so it is a touch like War and Peace ;)
All the best.
