is prone to getting skin legions that need to be checked for cancer regularly. Now I was quite happy that he goes off every three months to the skin clinic and gets checked out. Yesterday he was watching the doctor whiz around with the magnifying camera and noticed something that concerned him. He asked the doctor to go back and tell him why this particular legion was not a concern. It met all of the criteria in that it was irregular shape and inconsistent color. The doctor went back and looked at it again and decided to cut it out in 2 weeks time. My concern is that if the doctor nearly missed this one, what else is he missing and what is the point of getting the regular check ups. I have just had a hissy fit and insisted that he consults a proper dermatologist. I find this very scary.

Please, please make your hubby go to a dermatologist. Our good dermatologists here in South Africa do mole mapping, and of course skin cancer, so they can see how anything has progressed.
It is vitally important to have these things done urgently. Don't leave it. I speak from experience, and if caught early the prognosis is excellent. It takes us tough ladies to get our men to look after themselves !!

I believe that some doctors see so much cancer that they simply look for the worst of it and overlook the "simple" stuff.
Unfortunately, sometimes the simple can be a disguised complex.
My breast cancer was ultimately found so close to my chest wall that good margins could not be taken. Turned out to be grade 3. Today, I am a 6 year survivor.
Doctor was surprised that a ductal abnormality turned into an aggressive actual tumor. Since he did not take it all that seriously, insurance required I undergo 3 procedures before the cancer was actually found in the mastectomy.
The doctor, who is human, expressed surprise to me when the tumor was finally located.

It is our lives. It is his or her job.

Good luck to you and your husband... and follow your concerns.

I had TWO incorrect diagnoses of my breast cancer, one by the Specialist MBF Breast Cancer Clinic in Sydney (not the free one, the really expensive one I had been visiting for 30 years) and the second one was by a Breast Cancer specialist Surgeon, both of these said I only had a pappiloma, one said I should have it out, but "next year will be fine", the other said "you could have ten years before it became cancerous".

If I had not listened to my own instincts I would have been dead now. No Bull!

I had three different types of cancer, two within the lump and one surrounding it. One type within the lump was Grade 3 (in Australia Grade 3 is the killer that if it isn't removed within six months it metastesizes through the body and the rest is history)
By some miracle I survived, even though it took 10 months before the lump was removed and discovered to be not a Pappiloma, but deadly cancer.

I have written about this before and it is worth remembering, follow your instincts, and if you don't feel comfortable with what you are told, see another doctor or three, until you ARE completely at ease with the diagnosis.
HUgs and roses, Meg

1 comment

by fannyfurkin 02 Apr 2011

it is so scary the trust that we put in the doctors. the fact that my husband and I are both registered nurses makes us a bit more aware of things to be concerned about. I know that if he was not as neurotic as he is this thing would have been missed altogether. I know we don't know for sure yet what it is with his history nearly everything he has cut off is concerning.

I agree with the others, see someone else that is more thorough with the exam. Shouldn't fool around with this.

being married to a red head (or used to be, gray now) he is always getting checked by our dr. and then almost always has them frozen. Easy fix if caught early. If you don't have confidence in your dr. by all means go to the next step. However if he goes every 3 months, what was missed this time will be caught the next and still in the early easy fix stage.

You are right to follow your gut feeling. Melanoma is 100% curable at this stage, while if left to stage two, survival is only 20%. My sister's concerns about a mole on her leg were dismissed by three doctors when it was in stage one. Her battles with chemos and radiations lasted just 14 months before she passed away, leaving her husband and three little girls. We used to sit in the sun together and watch her freckles pop out.
Trust your gut feeling and don't worry if you cut out something that wasn't malignant.

Hissy on girl dont muck
around :(((((

My husband is like yours ,spends a lot of time going to dermatologist.We have found that some of the doctors at the different skin cancer clinics seem to to hopeless while others are very good.The same goes for dermatologists ,some think you are a cash cow even though you are a old age pensioner.The dermatologist he has been going to for years is 70-80kms away in Sydney so he tried a local one who seems to think he is a money machine ,his secretary keeps on ringing up to get him in .He has cancelled the appointment (if you cancel the appointment with less than 24 hrs notice you still get charged regardless of the reason )& went elsewhere but she keeps on ringing up.

Hi Alice - not surprised you are upset. Both you and I live in countries with hot summers. Skin cancer is a big thing. My ex husband (now living in UK) has had years of trouble with various things being cut out and skin grafts. PLEASE get your husband to see a dermatologist. Vicki is right, I think we all did too many years of sunbathing. I even used to use olive oil and Brylcream!!! Uggh....

Alice....I too am in the same boat as your hubby. I am fair skinned and spent countless years sunbathing before all this skin cancer stuff, well I have had 4 basal cell carcinomas...3 on my face area (thank heavens on forehead) and one on my leg. Everyone of these were not taken because the doc thought they were suspicious, they were all taken at my insistance.........basal cell isn't terminal, but it can be very invasive & deforming, so we all need to be proactive. Let us know what you find out........Hugs..Vicki

2 comments

by fannyfurkin 02 Apr 2011

This is what worries me. You have to insist that they cut things off. The reason here in Australia is because if they cut it off and the results come back that it is a cancer the doctor gets more money from the government medicare for the surgery than if it comes back benign. Can you believe that?

by basketkase 02 Apr 2011

OMG....that's incredibly sick, Alice!!

That is upsetting Alice, don't blame you and hope it comes back negative. I have 2 things on my back I brought to the attention of my family doc and my oncologist and they both said, "We'll keep and eye on it" and nothing more. I have to call a dermatologist and get in and get it checked for real!

Scary, we go to a dermatologist annually for skin cancer checks. They are very thoroughal. They found a removed a cancerous lesion on my daughter.

Ask him this. IF he took his car to a mechanic and the mechanic missed something would he go back?. Isn't his body more important than a car. Everyone is entitled to a second opinion.

You certainly do need to be on your toes, even being checked often. Sometimes they just do miss things lucky hubby was watching. Hope it is all ok!
Hugs Sally

This is so ture when you go to any doctor. Thanks for the reminder. We need to ask the doctor questions and make them listen!!! Stay on top of this and the doctor. Hope everything turns out okay.

Yes, skin cancer is scary. Maybe the skin doctor is only testing it because of your husband's concern. Wait until the results come back and go from there. I agree about a "proper' dematologist. My husbad was a roofer until he became a motorcycle trooper for 27 1/2 yrs. He gets regular chkups from a good dermatologist. Highly used and recommended by many individuals as well as physicians. Hope all is well with him.

When working for the Hair Club for Men, I notice something different on the scalp of a client, first time I did I told him, the second time that "thing" had changed shape and colors, so I told him that I will refuse service him until he will go and get it check, it took him about three months to come back,It was cancer and had to have a surgery, he was so happy I did not service him and sent him to the doctor, doctor said that this surgery had saved his life...Yes you are 100% right at been upset, get another doctor ASAP,,good luck.*****

1 comment

by fannyfurkin 02 Apr 2011

What a lucky man that you noticed this for him.

Praise God it was discovered. Now the 2 of you need to decide what to do to be sure it does not happen again. And it ounds like you are already thinking ahead. I think this is 1 case where being a nagging wife is A-OK

2 comments

by airyfairy 02 Apr 2011

You are so right there Karen.

by fannyfurkin 02 Apr 2011

It is the only case of me being nagging wife, my husband wears the nag pants in this house and he is getting on my last nerve at the moment, if he is not careful skin cancer will be the least of his worries. (joking) well not really he is driving me up the wall.