Dermotologist Care

[LittleDog]

My wife has been going to a dermatologist for a couple of years now and has had a few cancerous cells removed and many others have been biopsied and were not cancerous. What bothers me is that she went to the dermatologist yesterday and they did 5 more biopsies. It seems that every time she has an appointment they do more biopsies. I would think they would have checked all the spots before. They just keep finding new places to biopsy.

Would this be normal for a dermatologist?

John

[AJ32162]

My wife has been going to a dermatologist for a couple of years now and has had a few cancerous cells removed and many others have been biopsied and were not cancerous. What bothers me is that she went to the dermatologist yesterday and they did 5 more biopsies. It seems that every time she has an appointment they do more biopsies. I would think they would have checked all the spots before. They just keep finding new places to biopsy.

Would this be normal for a dermatologist?

John

It depends. A "spot" that looked normal 6 months or a year ago my have changed to the degree that it has now become "suspicious". That is why Dermatologists recommend that you do a self-exam monthly.

The only accurate way to determine whether or not a growth or lesion is malignant is through a biopsy. With your wife's history of skin cancer, she is a prime candidate for future cancers.

As I told my Dermatologist, regarding biopsies, "I would rather have ten too many than one too few". Untreated melanoma is fatal and untreated or the delayed treatment or basal cell and squamous cell cancers can be quite disfiguring.

[pbkmaine]

Since she has had cancerous cells, they are always going to err on the side of caution and biopsy anything that looks suspicious.

[Shimpy]

.........

[Navy (SSBN 633)]

Can always opt for second opinion with another dermatologist

[hulahips]

I do understand john and have experienced the same thing. Last time I actually said no to a spot I could barely see and told them I'd prefer to keep an eye on it

[lake5798]

IF THE DERMATOLOGIST IS Dr. Trans office, this is why I quit going, way to many indiscriminate biopsies,switched a couple of years ago to Suncoast Dermatology and no scrapes yet after 6 visits.