Dermatologist ALWAYS finds issues
 

My husband sees a dermatologist once a year which I don't disagree with but EVERY time he goes the dr finds several suspicious somethings so a biopsy is done. My question is, do those of you who see a dermatologist have the same situation? I'm just wondering if my husbands Dr happens to be either overly cautious or removes something just for the sake of removing. Yes there has been a few times in the past 10 yrs that the results were positive & necessary treatment was done but most of the time the results are negative. Another question I have is, if there is in fact something that needs attention and it happens to be a spot that is teeny tiny does that spot need attention immediately or can it wait a yr or two? Appreciate your input.

Don't fool around. Teeny spots can be melanoma. Lost too many friends to melanoma , sometimes cause dr said it can wait. I was one of the lucky ones . Caught the melanoma before it got to the blood stream..

Twice they've done a biopsy with good results.

What gets me is everything could possibly be "precancerous."

Sounds like a good dermatologist to me.... I'd rather get a negative report and know I'm being checked than worry about being overlooked til it's too late!

Teeny and tiny is when you want to get them. There is absolutely no possible good to wait giving the teeny tiny opportunity too grow.

Do not do it. It is one thing to gamble in some manner for enjoyment. There is no gamble worth your life as the stakes!!! NONE!!

btk

Thanks everyone for putting this issue in perspective for me.

Absolutely yes! And I'm thankful my dermatologist recommends removal of anything suspicious before it turns into cancer. For those of us who grew up in the "baby oil and iodine" days, our only solution now is a cautious dermatologist!

Some forms of Skin Cancer can spread very quickly and are much harder ro treat once they have spread. If your husband has had positive results on his biopsy, he has a greater risk of having another positive, so your doctor will tend to be more concerned if he sees a suspicious spot.
My husband and I go to the same doctor. They have never done a biopsy on my husband. He usually has to have a lot of spots frozen off, but no biopsy. I, on the other hand, very rarely have any spots to be frozen off, but have had several biopsies and 4 surgeries. I just had a pre-melanoma mole removed in the end of July. It was a mole that I never even noticed but was picked up on a routine doctor's visit. I'm glad that my doctor found it and removed it.

A fair question to ask the dermatologist is what is the likelihood that the lesion is benign. Obviously they can be wrong and many doctors feel the easiest way to avoid being wrong is to remove anything remotely unusual. As you suspect of course this also helps the income stream. If you had a dentist who drilled every spot on your teeth you'd find a new one. Yes, decay can't kill you. But if you ask most dermatologists will give you an honest answer as to what kind of lesion they suspect, what is the likelihood it will be malignant, what the rate of progression might be with observation, whether coming back in 6 months to have it looked at again is reasonable. Except for melanoma deaths from skin cancers are rare.
Skin Cancer Facts - SkinCancer.org
About 3200 non-melanoma skin cancer deaths/year in the US with 3,500,000 Americans being diagnosed with skin cancer per year. So you can see the death rate is less than 1 in 1000 diagnosed cancers. This is not a highly aggressive disease (except melanoma).
A fair question to ask is, Are you worried about melanoma or a less aggressive illness like basal cell or squamous cell. Certainly those can be watched closely for a bit if it is so early that your experienced dermatologist is uncertain. Taking a good photograph at the first finding can be an excellent tool for judging progression.
Some patients would prefer to just get everything removed. But to answer your question, not every dermatologist removes everything. Pre-malignant is another word for not malignant thus benign. Some lesions are more likely to devolve into cancer. Any pigmented mole is higher risk. Any HPV infected tissue, and skin that was ever sunburned, etc.

Dermatologist
 

Would you feel okay about sharing the dermatologist's name? I know I need to see a dermatologist soon and this one sounds very thorough and that's what I like. Thank you.

My husband goes to Village Dermatology & sees Dr Thi Tran...352-751-6565.

OP I have similar concerns. Sometimes I wonder if some of the treatments by my Dermatologist are just making her more money or are they really necessary.

As we age, is it not "normal" for aging spots to appear? I don't remember my Dad---who spent many more hours outside in the sun than me---he never went to a Dermatologist. I will probably keep going every six months but I still wonder! :spoken:

Your dermatologist may be excellent and proactive, or he may be pumping up his income. The only way to know is to verify his reputation, and/or to get a second opinion from another dermatologist.

No Doubts
 

Since reading the many posts including yours it has brought me to my senses and I now have a new attitude and have stopped doubting my husbands dermatologist. Thank you

I think this has been an important thread in emphasizing the need for regular checkups by a dermatologist ... Just like colonscopies and regular physical exams. As we age, I hope we all take any preventative measures we can to avoid nasty surprises.