Watching this board for a couple of days...

[crowheart]

Great forum here! I must say it is very scary though. I just had a biopsy(shave..yikes) of a very black mole like thing taken off of the middle finger of my right hand. The spot previously had been a very small flat brownish spot, which I have had for years I think. It's hard to tell in places like that. The other day I thought I had a speck of dirt on my finger and then I found this black ever so very slightly raised mole in the place the brown mole had been, and about the same size, SCARY!. Needless to say I rushed to skin doctor and he said we need to biopsy it. The Doctor didn't give me any opinion if this was a melanoma or not. Even though I tried to get his opinion. Personally I think it is. The black color scared me. After reading the stories here I am even more scared. Why on earth does it take over a week to get results back on a biopsy? That is not right. For Breast tissue (my wife )
they get results back fast because they know people tend to anguish over this. I have not been able to concentrate for 2 days. I need my brain for work. The doctor did say that in the past the used to watch moles this size, but that if they grow many times it is to late. Then I said what we do if this is cancer? and he said, "well at this point it's cured". Yeah right and you can read tea leaves as well. Then why are you doing the biopsy my friend is what i should have said. Sorry about the rant just worried and anxious. Any insight would help.


Thanks...

[aimees71]

Hi Crowheart, and Mellyuk (if you read here),

Sounds like you both are going through a scary time. Sorry! Crowheart, you are right... don't panic, you don't know the results yet. Although it's taxing emotionally and mentally, concentrate on maintaining your daily routine and health at this time. Getting tired and scared will do nothing but make you more miserable and exhausted.

In regards to the wait time... tissues in the body vary. Some are responsive to pathology tests that are quick and others are not. For example, I had to wait 7 days for results of my lymphnode biopsy because freezing and testing them quickly yields very unreliable and innaccurate results, which you definitely don't want! So be patient and thankful that medical professionals have tests that are accurate.

Also, in response to taking the mole off and the doctor saying you are cured... he may well be right. Melanoma is a different animal when it comes to cancer. The most research-based "cure" is really removal, not chemo or radiation like in other cancers. If it is indeed melanoma, they may want to remove more tissue around the site (called a wide excission). The extent of the excission would depend on the stage of the Breslow's Thickness of the melanoma. So, take heart! You really may be cured!!! I had a wide excission, and I am cured!

Please do let us know your results when they come in, and rest well.

[crowheart]

Thanks for the kind words. I am a bit down. Anyway Thanks...