I just got the news that both moles my dermatologist removed a week ago are precancerous--the official term is dysplastic nevus (plural is nevi). If you look at the National Cancer Institutes's website, these "atypical moles" generally don't turn into melanoma. It also says, "Normally, people do not need to have a dysplastic nevus or common mole removed". However, I'm guessing that once someone (like me) has had melanoma, they protocol is to remove the dysplastic nevi. Also, according to Wikipedia, there are different types of atypical moles, so the biopsy may have indicated that I have the type that's more likely to become melanoma. Anyway, my dermatologist is ensuring that the margins are clear. Her office said the entire root system was removed from the mole on my thigh, but not on my chest. So I have to go back in so she can remove the entire root system. It must not be significant surgery, since she's able to do it in her office.
I asked the office assistant what kind of cancer it could turn into--he just said it wasn't skin cancer yet. But looking at the National Cancer Institute and the Skin Cancer Foundation (Skincancer.org) websites, these atypical moles are associated only with melanoma. In fact, the Skin Cancer Foundation website says "dysplastic nevi are unusual benign moles that may resemble melanoma". Drat. More potential melanoma.
I could tell by the way they handled this call that something was up--it wasn't just going to be "everything's normal". But I wasn't as nervous this time as I was when I got the call about the blotch on my face being melanoma. Guess I'm getting used to hearing about cancer. Unfortunately.
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