If you have any questions (like this one) I am happy to answer them and this is the place to ask any question that may come to mind.


Hi Cynthia. Three years ago, when you had a melanoma removed, where on your body was it located, and could you tell by looking at it that it was a melanoma?

Three years ago I noticed a light colored mole about 3 inches under my right breast that had a darker (redbrown) area on one side of it. What I noticed the most was that it itched. I did not know if that mole had always looked that way or if it had changed, so I started noticing it more, and it kept itching. When I made the appointment to have it looked at, the doctor who saw me was immediately suspiscious and sent me over to a doctor who took a "punch" biopsy of it. The biopsy came back as melanoma, Breslow thickness 1mm (that means how far it has grown down into your skin) Clarks Level III (another indication of how far it has invaded into the tissue). It had a low mitotic rate (was not multiplying very quickly) and was not ulcerated (had not broken out of it's "capsule." It never occured to me that it would be melanoma, and I did not know how dangerous it was. It is still hard to believe that a tiny mole could kill me. I have always thought that skin cancer is cured once you take the abnormal area off. I asked the plastic surgeon who removed the original mole and the skin around it what caused it and he said that it was from sun exposure as a child.