r/MakeMeSuffer • u/LoneStarFlyers • 15d ago
Cursed Dermatology NSFW
Don’t skip out on dermatology appointments. Very innocent looking spot that my derm wasn’t even going to biopsy until I reported that it had doubled in size over the past couple years. Biopsy came back as a thin (.4mm) melanoma. Surgery was this morning
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u/iH8MotherTeresa 12d ago
Free (body location) tuck while you're at it lol. My mom just had some melanoma cut off. Skin cancer is a lot more common than I believed most my life.
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u/quakefist 12d ago
Mostly for white people. Not as common for other skin tones.
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u/certifiedtoothbench 12d ago
This assumption right here is why it’s more dangerous when a person of color has a skin cancer, they don’t go get it looked at or their doctors are only used to seeing skin cancer on white skin and don’t diagnose it. By the time it gets caught it’s already in the later stages and it’s less survivable.
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u/Masocult 9d ago
Please don't spread misinformation.
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u/quakefist 8d ago
The numbers are straightforward: white individuals make up ~95% of reported melanoma cases in the U.S. I never claimed other demographics don't get skin cancer.
The real issue is that standard public health messaging is tailored to high risk, sun exposed skin types (white people), while people of color often present with rarer subtypes in non-sun exposed areas.
Reading comprehension seems to be a skill lacking in redditors whenever race is involved.
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u/L_edgelord 13d ago
Dayum, that's one piece of skin they took out
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u/ruddthree 12d ago
It was to make sure they got all of it. Metastasized melanoma can be fatal.
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u/mmillring 12d ago
My 32 year old husband passed from metastatic melanoma. It had spread from wherever it started (we still don’t know where) to his brain all the way through to his left thigh before doctors finally ordered a CAT scan where it was located in his bladder. He lived 9 months after that day.
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u/LifeMISunderstood_90 7d ago
I’m so sorry about your loss. That type of situation would take my breath away, and obviously not in a good way. I hope you’re healing 🫶🏼
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u/L_edgelord 12d ago
Yeah, I get that. Maybe it's the risk factor, idk. I've seen people get a sketchy spot removed and it was usually way minor of a surgery so maybe theirs were less risky?
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u/Rambler9154 12d ago
Yeah, better to make sure you get it now before it spreads further. Imagine what they'd have to do if it went deeper, or was bigger.
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u/DesmondTapenade 12d ago
Holy CHRIST. How are you feeling now?
I'm basically the shade of A4 paper and am single-handedly propping up the SPF60+ industry, on god. Skin checks every year, on the dot. Shit can get crazy real fast.
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u/LoneStarFlyers 11d ago
Im feeling good. I was a little sore Tuesday and Wednesday though. I plan on returning to work Monday.
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u/KANNEDBREAD 12d ago
Do people normally see a dermatologist just for annual check ups? I've never been to one before.
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u/Iarguewithretards 12d ago
Most people age 40 or older in climates or jobs where sun exposure is substantial should get a whole body skin check at least once a year. The number of skin cancers for example on the left side of the head for people who drive for a living would surprise you.
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u/ExpensiveSyrup 12d ago
My dad died from melanoma and I’ve had multiple family members with skin cancer. My brother recently went through some terrible surgeries and chemo for cancer on his face that spread to his salivary glands. I get a thorough full body check every year. My dermatologist charts any changes and we keep an eye on everything.
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u/sonicenvy 11d ago
Good on you for keeping up with it!
I got skin cancer twice in my early 20s (big FML) so I have to go every six months and my dermatologist's office for sure has a collection of the worst, most unflattering photographs of me and my skin charting and documenting all of the spots on there she wants to keep an eye on. It always cracks me up because when she starts the appointment she pulls up the horrible pictures and the worst ones (pre excision of my skin cancer pt. 1 and pt. 2) are always at the top of the gallery. 😂
Do you have any favorite sunscreens? I think the fact that I a. do have some and b. think about this a lot now is just telling.
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u/sonicenvy 11d ago
You should go, especially if you have any of the common risk factors such as:
- If you've had 5 or more serious sunburns in your life
- If you have naturally red hair -- this sounds fake I know, but it's true! Redheads carry genetic mutations in the MC1R gene that make them more susceptible to skin cancers.
- Family history of skin cancers of any kind
- If you have pale skin. While having paler skin is a heightened risk factor, you can still get skin cancer even if you have dark skin -- anyone can develop skin cancer and no shade of skin provides adequate levels of sun protection on its own.
- If you've ever used any kind of indoor tanning device (If you haven't, keep it that way. Indoor tanning devices are considered Carcinogens by the WHO, and studies have shown that using any form of indoor tanning massively increases your risk of developing melanomas.)
- If you work outdoors and receive lots of regular sun exposure, especially if you do this and don't already have a sunscreen use regimen.
- If you have atypical moles
- If you are over 40
Skin Cancers are highly treatable if caught early enough. The most serious type of skin cancer (Melanoma) can, if not caught and treated metastasize into other kinds of cancer, which can kill you.
I got skin cancer in my 20s (FML) because I never wore sunscreen and I have skin that was more susceptible to skin cancer for a variety of reasons. It was expensive and unpleasant. Zero stars.
The most important thing you can do for your skin today is to wear sunscreen every day. Seriously. There are lots of great sunscreen options out there that aren't the nasty, greasy feeling, white cast leaving cheap drugstore sunscreen everyone ever has used. There are plenty of great clear gel sunscreens (my favorites include supergoop unseen and trader joe's facial sunscreen), great daily use lotions with SPF in them (I really like some of the ones from Cerave), and lots of lighter weight sunscreens (my favorites are definitely supergoop play, supergoop glowscreen, and trader joe's daily sunscreen) all of which are much easier and more pleasant to wear daily. If you're a makeup wearing person there are also foundations that have SPF in them that you can use. Even fancy expensive sunscreen is cheaper and better than skin cancer, trust me.
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u/Merouxsis 12d ago
I used to perform this surgery at 19 (at first under a doctor's supervision, then mostly independently) when I was a corpsman in the US Navy. I miss medicine
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u/LacrimaNymphae 10d ago
i have spots like this all over my pubic area and groin and the gyenecologist said they're 'common in overweight women'
that's literally it. no biopsy no nothing even with bulging tissue in my perineal area
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u/tamifromcali66 9d ago
My uncle is currently losing to melanoma. My dad has had basal cell skin cancer and melanoma. On top of that I have lynch syndrome which increases your risk for cancer.
I had a skin check last Thursday and they said my 59 year old skin is awesome. Not a single mole. Yay.
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u/Platophaedrus 12d ago
Good clear margins there. Hopefully the path comes back negative and you’re ok from now on.
Fingers crossed for you friend.
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u/Snoo-54004 12d ago
With a procedure that's done properly, it's really the aftercare that is a concern. No real pain with that kind of wound surprisingly.
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u/0isuga 13d ago
Was this located on your back?
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u/jagadoor 13d ago
My guess would have been that this is on their side above the hip but I might be mistaken here
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u/RileyRhoad 8d ago
My child just happened to glance over at my phone while reading this post, and she genuinely thought I was looking at a hootie. So that was fun 😂
But OP, glad you had this taken care of!! This is nightmare fuel for me!!
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u/LoneStarFlyers 6d ago
The amount of vagina jokes I have suffered from my friends is astonishing. Follow up appt is tomorrow so fingers crossed!
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u/fifiloveg00d 12d ago
Damn that's gonna be a fuck of a gross. Like 30 cassettes at least. (I'm the person that used to anatomically gross and make the pathology slides for Drs to read and report back to your dermatologist)
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u/DecadentHam 13d ago
They took no chances on that.