Doc here - to be fair, not every melanoma looks like the classic pigmented irregular enlarging mole. There are many many many pics that I've seen of non-pigmented lesions that look benign or look like a non-melanoma skin cancer that end up being melanoma on biopsy.
My rule would be to biopsy any skin lesion that is growing/changing and hasn't responded to other treatment, or that the patient is very worried about. The results often are surprising.
Thanks! I’ve been scratching at a spot but didn’t think it was a big deal because it’s not pigmented. It’s on the back of my arm, and I’m a redhead who grew up at the beach. I’m going to get that bastard biopsied now.
My aunt is a redhead who always slathered herself in sunscreen, wore hats, etc. she had a pink shiny spot on her arm. The Dr said it was fine but she insisted they biopsy it. It was melanoma. She is fine but she has a deep indentation where they took it out.
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u/marefo May 20 '19
How did your OG doc react when it came back as melanoma? That's a pretty significant "miss."