In Situ Melanoma

[Danimal16]

Has anyone had experience with the MOHs treatment for this.

I had a test come back for a 3 mm spot and this is what the report revealed.

I have read all I can on the subject.

I have a consult with my surgeon on the 5th.

Any advice? Would be appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

[p911dad]

I have had a lot of skin cancer, and all removed surgically as needed. MOHS is usual for lesions on the head and face, much less scarring if done by a qualified MOHS surgeon. If I had a melanoma diagnosis I would get that removed ASAP! Nothing to mess with. Good luck!

[Bill Douglas]

I would get it cut out and ask for the area to resemble a shark bite.

MOHs is fine but success is dependent on how good the person is who is looking at the slices. I'd ask to get cut out what is needed and half again.

Sister got one done MOHs and it worked (she's still alive) but it was only on her arm. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Tobra]

Mohs is a pretty awesome procedure.

Use sunscreen and wear a bigger hat, visit your dermatologist annually

I have a good eye for skin lesions, would probably wide excise a 3 mm one, depending where it was

[billybek]

Lost a cousin and a workmate to melanoma.
Nothing to mess with.

[sc_rufctr]

Melanomas are very common in Australia.

I wish you the best outcome!

[speeder]

Like so many other cancers, it's all about catching it in time. I've seen several people go through melanoma and survive. Best of luck, Dan.

[Noah930]

With melanoma, it's the depth of invasion which is important. There are a couple staging conventions. The Breslow one is better. But that information you won't know until the specimen is sent off to the pathologist. Best of luck.

[pwd72s]

Dan, wishing you a successful surgery & quick recovery...

[MikeSid]

Originally Posted by Noah930

With melanoma, it's the depth of invasion which is important. There are a couple staging conventions. The Breslow one is better. But that information you won't know until the specimen is sent off to the pathologist. Best of luck.

Obviously listen to the Doc here.

My brother fought melanoma and passed last November. It can play hide and seek on you and like Noah says, the depth is important. Given how quickly my brother's melanoma metastasized to other organs, I'd opt for cutting out as much surgically as possible. You're not dealing with just a basal cell carcinoma here.

MOHS, as I understand, is designed to use minimal margins to preserve natural benign tissue. This could be important depending on the location of your lesion (like face or penile lesions). But if appearance or conserving important natural tissue aren't considerations, I'd opt for a scorched earth approach and live a long and happy life with a big old scar.

Best of luck to you.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I would get it cut out and ask for the area to resemble a shark bite.

MOHs is fine but success is dependent on how good the person is who is looking at the slices. I'd ask to get cut out what is needed and half again.

This makes sense.

Good luck, and it does seem to be a matter of probability, there.

Sister got one done MOHs and it worked (she's still alive) but it was only on her arm. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Danimal16]

Want to thank everyone for their support, Thanks!!

All worked out for the better. I have to admit I consider myself lucky on this for a number of reasons. When I moved three years ago I put off my 6 month dermatologist exams. Bad on me. BUT, I am so grateful for my new Dermatologist and her team of wonderful partners. The surgery was immediately scheduled after my first visit and just by chance I was blessed with a highly regarded and capable surgeon that removed the two cancers.

All is well, I have a couple of scars that are quite, well nicely hidden. One was a MOHS removal (one pass) and the other was a conventional removal. Super grateful and happy with my treatment and care.

I am now on the three month exam schedule and happy to be on it.

And I have all of you to cheer me on to getting well. Thanks again!!

[astrochex]

Great to hear the sites were taken care of and that you are a regular examination schedule. I’ve been on an annual exam for a couple years now. But I am also much more careful about sun exposure. I have also recently been self-treating sites that I have been concerned about. If anyone is interested, I can pm the remedy I have using.

[porsche tech]

I’ve had melanoma removed twice on the same cheek. The local dermatologist here on the island has done several MOHS sugeries on me but for the melanoma on my face they sent me to Joel Cook at MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) in Charleston. He is a Porsche guy BTW. He told me to think of it like tree roots and that mine had barely even started to take root (maybe that’s what situ means, IDK). I think the spot was probably less than 3mm but still took 15 or so stitches, I think. Surprised me how much he cut. That was Oct 2020.



Healed up with no scar. Then they put me on the every three month deal too. Then had another one on the same cheek in Oct 24. Same deal all over again. Golfing, fishing and dermatologist…the three things I do the most. Cost of doing business I guess.

Feel blessed like you do that they have the people and technology to take care of this stuff.

[masraum]

Thank goodness you guys are keeping on top of this stuff!

Thank goodness that the surgeries have been successful.