Do I have skin cancer?

I went to the doctor a week ago to have two odd moles looked at. She decided to do an incisional biopsy on them. Yesterday the doc called and said that one of them was a "highly atypical nevus" and that I should come back ASAP to get more tissue removed with a margin. I'm going in tomorrow to do that. When I asked what that means, she said that we'd talk about it in person. Now I'm worried.





I'm only 26, but I have a lot of risk factors for skin cancer--family history, blue eyes and red hair, pale skin and freckles, many many bad sunburns, congenital nevi (moles I was born with), and a precancerous mole that was removed 7 years ago. That's why I keep a close eye on my skin and went to the doc in the first place.





Does this mean that I have (or probably have) skin cancer?

Do I have skin cancer?
First, "naevus" or "nevus" just means a pigmented lesion on your skin, like a birth mark. Most are benign. However, when she called, she obviously had gotten some suspicious pathology reports back, and wants to take a closer look. Getting a sample with a border allows her to compare your normal cells with those of the area she's testing. When she takes the sample, they preserve it (usually in alcohol), then embed it in a parafin block, and take very very thin slices of it with a microtome blade. These slices are mounted on microscope slides, and a pathologist reviews them for signs of malignancy.


There are some things you can look at on your own body, though. They're called the ABC's of skin cancer, and diagnosticians and general practitioners learn them in med school. A = asymmetry (the mole is not a circle or oval, but blebbs, and has an inconsistent shape) B = Border (if the border is not smooth, it may signal a problem) and C = colour (color changes in nevi are not good. normal colors are shades of brown, turning red or black can signal a problem). These rules are not hard and fast, but serve as a good tool.





Good luck.
Reply:The only way to be sure is when you get the results from your doctor, i will say however skin cancer is one of the most non-lethal types of cancer out there so in all honesty you shouldn't be too worried.





You seem to be taking care of yourself and very self aware so that also counts in your favour - try not to worry, you'll be ok.
Reply:ok, the girl before me is wrong. certain types of skin cancer are not very deadly, but malignant melanoma is VERY deadly.





the good news, malignant melanoma doesn't arise from moles.





your results and symptoms could be representative of skin cancer. it's treatable if it is. but try not to worry about it until you get your results back, because worrying now will not make things any better.
Reply:I think it would be better to have it checked out by the docter, because they would know for sure.