Hello Angie and thank you for your response,

Yes, I think a second opinion is much needed.

I guess I'm just confused as to how they can distinguish between an atypical mole vs. melanoma - and I worry maybe because I am young that they are not seriously looking at the mole.

I've seen less suspicious looking moles be removed (moles that look completely normal) and they turned out to be cancer; so what do those moles show under the dermascope that an atypical/healthy mole doesn't? because to the naked eye my mole looks quite worrisome (and violates a lot of the ABC rules). 

I wish the derm had talked these things through with me a bit more - if I'm not going to be given a biopsy, I definitely think this kind of information would have put my mind to peace.

Kind regards,

And that's the problem - melanoma is such a devious cancer that not all moles that look dodgy are malignant whilst some that appear to look fine may not be. That is why the naked eye can't be relied on & the dermascope gives them a better idea as to whether the mole is a problem. It shows them the cell structure of the mole (like looking at a slide under a microscope). Healthy cells look round whilst malignant cells change into an oval shape. If the mole is malignant, there will be many more cells, per square mm, than there should be because they continue to divide (normal cells don't). Also, if a cell appears to have broken out of the mole & invaded the surrounding tissue, that will be a malignant cell. So a dermascope gives them a very good idea if the mole is benign, pre-cancerous (dysplastic) or malignant from the shape and amount of cells and if the cells are still contained within the mole. This website explains it better (half way down the page under 'Tissue Changes that are Not Cancer' www.cancer.gov/.../what-is-cancer

Obviously there will be some moles that aren't as clear cut under the dermascope and they are the ones that they would remove anyway, just to be on the safe side. 

I hope this helps, and that you get a second opinion. Hopefully it will give you peace of mind,

Angie

Thank you for your in depth response Angie - it's much appreciated.

I sent an email to the hospital last night letting them know that I was upset that the mole was not biopsied last year, and that it was causing me a great deal of distress - and I have good news!

I have an appointment with a dermatalogist tommorrow. I will let you know how it goes.

I really want this situation to be over with already; is it worth me going into depth about the mental health problems it has caused (e.g. the scalpels order, leaving the house during a mental breakdown over the mole etc. etc.)? It's a bit embarrassing and I'd rather not go into it, but if it will increase my chances of getting a biopsy then I will open up about it.

Hi,

I'm so glad that your email has got you an appointment today. I hope I catch you before you attend it as I think you should tell them about the depth of your anxiety and what it has led to. I know it's embarrassing but it can only help when they make their decision. Crossing everything for you xx

Hello Angie,

I have bittersweet news - I have an urgent excision booked for Tuesday 13th, which is good for obvious reasons, but also somewhat worrying because it can either be the start of the end or a new beginning of something even worse.

The Doctor said this though; 'In my honest opinion it is probably not melanoma, but rather a dysplastic or atypical mole', which is also very promising since that means 2 derms have said this now. 

It seems that confessing to my wild anxiety over the mole also had a great influence on getting it removed (although it was bit embarrassing since they had printed out the manic emails I had sent them at 4am!).

Kind regards,

Chloe.

Sometimes we have to put ourselves through an inordinate amount of worry and embarrassment to get the care we need but it will be worth it. I hope the results show it was dysplastic and at least you are in the system and any future worrying moles (hopefully none but you never know) will get checked out without you having to go through all this again.

Good luck & let us know how you get on,

Angie

So I had the excision on Tuesday, and I've had a bit more pain then I was expecting.

It's a bit difficult to walk - so I have spent these past few days sat down (and crawling around the house like a maniac). It feels like the wound is going to rip open when I walk or do anything with my legs which is really odd since the mole was only tiny and I was expecting the wound to be as such.

I've got 12 stitches, but that's all I know about the wound since it still has the dressing on. I'm yet to see whatever frankenstein creation lies beneath. The dermatologist said he did a 5mm margin - is this is a lot? Or is this a conservative margin to remove? All I know is that my leg is killing me, and the surrounding area is bruised black and blue. 

The size of the excision would normally be a little smaller (depending on the size of the mole), however, some surgeons prefer to do the maximum size of excision, 5mm, just to doubly make sure they've removed everything (in case the biopsy shows it was malignant). It doesn't suggest they think it's melanoma, it's just the way they like to work! Your leg will be black & blue I'm afraid - any surgery is trauma to the body & it's the muscles/tissues way of healing the damage that's been done. Just keep off your leg as much as you can, at least for the first 7 to 10 days, to give the wound time to heal. 

Take it easy now & good luck with the results x