"Persistent or recurrent mole"

[TDBC]

I just had a few "suspicious" areas removed.  Two were mild to moderate atypical moles and one was called a "persistent or recurrent mole".  The path report called for additional excision to confirm the diagnosis.   I can't see how it would be recurrent b/c I'd never had it removed before.   The spot in question was a VERY small area on my arm that was slightly pink and scaly.  The pink TOTALLY blanched with pressure and the scale may very well have been related to the fact that I frequently picked at it to get to an ingrown hair that often appeared under the skin.  

The pathology report freaked me out and I'm afraid that I really have an amelonotic melanoma.  I read somewhere (on google) that recurrent moles can be misdiagnosed as melanoma (so a high false positive rate).  Is the reverse also true?  Can the diagnosis of a persistent or recurrent mole be a mistake?  Could it really be melanoma?  

Do amelonitic melanomas blanch with a little bit of pressure?

Would a dermatopathologist be able to recognize an amelonotic melanoma?  If there was any question about the possibility of a melanoma would that concern have been outlined on the pathology report?

[tychob]

the internet has created a race of hysterics. Of course hypochondria finds a way. When I was in college I was absolutely sure I had cancer of the privates, and managed to confirm it beyond question by burying myself in the med school stacks and learning beyond question, and with photographic documentation that I had contracted a disease that occurs principally in the Congo.  

[jagesh50]

AMM features are typical and wont be missed.It is differerent.To compare is like telling if my aunt had a mustache she would have been my uncle.Does not jell?no?

[jagesh50]

Now you should get out of this fear and start some good aerobic workout.

[jagesh50]

They would not blanch AMM

[TDBC]

Thank you!

Would an amelonotic melanoma blanch COMPLETELY with light pressure?  

This was just a teeny-tiny pink area -- I think at one point it was a flesh colored (tiny) bump that would get an ingrown hair under it.  I would frequently pick at the area with a sharp tweezer to get the hair out.  So is it possible that repeated picking at it would cause it to look like a recurrent mole (sort of like having a bunch of shave biopsies)?  

So, if there was even any SUSPICION that it could have been an amelonotic melanoma, would the pathologist have raised some sort of flag/concern?  My doctor was emphatic that it was OK -- they always err on the side of caution, right?

[jagesh50]

Very important for you to know that recurrent moles may resemble melanoma in a slide but there are other features to distinguish in histopathology.Quit worrying.

[jagesh50]

Please dont get carried away by wikipedia,trust in your self and the dermato- pathologist too.See these days people get worried like we did when we were medical students.Every node felt in my body was hodgkin disease,and little prominece of eye hyper thyroid.Not to say dont read, good to know too.

[jagesh50]

I am sorry to see that you are a real anxiety state.Melanomas are not missed the histiopathology is typical.

[TDBC]

I keep hoping that SOMEONE will be able to offer some words of reassurance.  I am in a panic that I have amelonotic melanoma.

[TDBC]

Anyone?

:(

[TDBC]

Anyone?

The derm was emphatic that it is not melanoma and that there's no concern at all in waiting until my appointment with the plastic surgeon to get it fully excised (surgery won't be for at least 2.5 weeks).  Spoke to the PA and she said she seems plenty of pathology reports and mine didn't suggest anything even remotely concerning.  

The only way I can imagine it being persistent is that I would often pick at that area (with a sharp tweezer) to remove an ingrown hair.  I suppose it's possible that I'd picked at the surface of the nevi enough to cause some microscopic scarring (much like a shave biopsy would).  I also had some cuts from an injury on that part of my arm last spring.  

Anyone with any reassurance?

[TDBC]

Oh -- I meant to add that I asked the derm if there was any way it was melanoma (based on the path report) and she said she promised it wasn't.  But, she also missed what I'm fairly certain is another atypical mole (didn't move my bra out of the way) so I'm not sure how much I trust her.  Then again, pathology is pretty definitive, right?