There's a segment on the Today Show right now about getting checked - 1 in 5 will be affected! I am making my annual appointment today! I had to cancel my last one, and have been forgetting to make another. My mom is a melanoma survivor, so its especially on my mind. How often do you get checked?
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Never been but I know I should!!
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I know I need to.
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Never, but I have one I need to get checked out.
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I try to go once a year. I am pretty mole-y.
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I should do this more. Like @Mrs. Bee: I am pretty mole-y. Thanks for the reminder!
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I go annually and every 6 months when I have a spot we're "watching." I've had one removed and have a few watches on me right now. I'll probably have to have this one on my back removed soon.
Do you know how to tell what moles may be problems? Look at all of your moles. Most of them or all of them are the same color. Watch for ones that are darker, much lighter or different shades like red. Those could be problem spots. I watch dark moles on me for changes in shape, color or size.
This is also the reason I have a rash guard for the summer now.
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I go once a year. I'm fair and have lots of moles. I've had several moles removed at this point. I'm watching one on my arm right now. I think it's starting to change shape.
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@mediagirl: Have you ever heard anything about ones that itch? I have an itchy one and that concerns me.
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@grizz: I've never had itchy ones! Going to get a full body scan is never a bad idea, though.
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I just got checked last spring. My dermatologist called me a "mole-y girl" but she wasn't concerned about anything. She did say that I should take pictures and compare them every few months or so. I haven't done that yet. Oops
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@grizz: I had one removed on my leg that was itchy last fall. It was benign. I was definitely concerned about it!
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@grizz: I did! I had it removed because it was bothering me so badly. It only started to bother me once I was breastfeeding though (it was on my side), and I think it may have been harboring the yeast infection that caused thrush cause it was pretty painful during our bout with thrush. It continued to cause discomfort even after the thrush "went away" and I guess that might be because yeast remains dormant and often never full goes away?? Anyway, I had my doctor remove it and I'm glad I did. No more discomfort or itching.
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I had a large mole removed last year, and the dermatologist recommended coming in yearly for mole checks. I have fair skin and burned a lot as a kid, so I'm pretty diligent about staying on top of that.
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Once a year because I have a lot of moles.
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Once a year - tons of skin cancer in my family. I will say, though, that the moles I've been concerned about have turned out fine. I hope that continues!
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Every 2 years, which is what my dermatologist recommended for me. I also keep a close eye on myself though and have made a special appointment specifically to check on a spot that worried me (turned out to be nothing!). I'm very fair skinned and I've had quite a few bad burns in my life so I definitely take skin cancer seriously!
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Aggh I need to. I have one on my leg and one in my armpit that are pretty dark and about the size of pencil erasers. I know they probably need to be cut off.
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Never, but I just noticed one that I thought looked kinda new and... weird. So I've been thinking I should probably do that!
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I had melanoma while I was pregnant, so I'm on an every 3 months schedule for 5 years. I encourage everyone I know to at least get a baseline skin exam. My melanoma wasn't even a mole - just a normal-looking freckle that had an irregular border when the doctor looked at it with his magnifying tool. Luckily I went to the dermatologist regularly and he caught it at "stage 0" before it spread anywhere.
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My dad passed away from melanoma so DH and I go for a yearly screening!
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Everyone on here seems so good about getting their moles checked! I think at least once a year is key.
One of my BFFs was JUST diagnosed with melanoma last week.
She's 8 months pregnant and seeing oncologists and having to make decisions about how to proceed. She's fair skinned and goes once a year or more to the dermatologist. So she's lucky to have caught early what's being described as a cancer showing rapid cell division!! -
@knittylady: sorry to hear about your dad.
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@SeptMomma12: yikes! I just posted about my friend going through the same thing. I'm glad you caught yours early and that you and baby are healthy.
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Ugh, I have one that I want my doctor to look at, but I keep forgetting.
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I have to do every 6 months after having 5 removed and 2 wide local excisions. Boooo, tanning!
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@knittylady:
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I've gone every year for the past three years, but I need to find a new dermatologist. We make it a threesome because both my DH and I are freckley/mole-y and DS has a spot on his head that we keep an eye on.
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Every 6 months! I have had many (5-6) removed and have tons more so I'm super-paranoid!
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I need to do this more often. It's been a few years!
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I go every other year, which is my dermatologist's recommendation. If he found something worrisome, he'd have me come more often but he says this is sufficient for now.
DH keeps promising me he'll go but hasn't done it yet -- I really need to get on his case about it because he has a lot more sun damage/moles than I do.
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Annually. Grew up in Australia which has insanely high skin cancer rates, so I'm pretty conscious about getting it done regularly. DH has already had multiple pre-cancerous moles removed.
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@MrsMcD: Both my dermatologist and the oncologist told me that they see a surprisingly high number of pregnant women with melanoma. They said science has been unable to find a link, but they're not convinced that pregnancy doesn't somehow play a role - who knows, maybe it just gets people to think about their health and go to the doctor!
I had surgery at 16 weeks pregnant and LO (now 19 months) and I are both healthy. My doctors did choose to biopsy the placenta, just to be extra cautious - you may want to mention that to your friend.
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@SeptMomma12: Thanks for the info! The PA at my friend's obgyn practice told her she had NEVER seen a pregnant girl with melanoma. (umm... someone fire her, STAT.) The doctor's have already mentioned a biopsy of the placenta. I'm really glad to her things worked out so well for you. I'm going to pass your story along to her.
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I try to go every year, though sometimes it is more like every 2. I'm always concerned about all of them and the dr barely gives everything a second glance.
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Once a year but new moles are constantly popping up all over my body. Even with long sleeves and a high SPF.
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@HLK208: Same here
Scares me with my history.
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I started going once a year in 2012 because I have lots of moles, some in strange places like between toes and on the bottom of my foot. I was so worried going to my first appointment, but everything checked out. I used to get bad sunburn every year when I was little that would turn to impetigo on my face so I am worried about all that skin damage especially.
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@HLK208: @Elderberrygin: @lamariniere: @MrsMcD: @knittylady: @Mrs. Bee: @grizz: Ladies, when you say you "go once a year" for "an annual screening" - what does the doctor do??
We don't have "annual screening" or any other sort of "just in case" screening here. The instruction is to watch yor moles and visit your GP (general practitioner = family doctor) if your mole changes shape/size/colour. The GP then monitors the mole for 8 weeks, measuring with a ruler, and will refer you to a dermatologist when they are satisfied it's a problem....
I want to know more about this screening thing!
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@Cherrybee: when I have gone to the dermatologist, they scan my whole body with a special light, kind of like a flashlight, I think it is a black light (??). I have one mole that we keep an eye on and then I am very freckley, so they make sure the freckles look normal. Last time she noticed one on my arm that was much darker than all of my other ones and asked me if I had noticed if it was new or had changed. She also asked if I noticed any other new freckles, but since I have so many, it is hard to say. My husband has lots of moles, especially on his torso and back, and has had several removed, so they always do the same light check and check for any abnormalities. If it makes any difference, we always go to the dermatologist when we are visiting my husband's family in France. We go to an in-hospital dermatologist.
She's 8 months pregnant and seeing oncologists and having to make decisions about how to proceed. She's fair skinned and goes once a year or more to the dermatologist. So she's lucky to have caught early what's being described as a cancer showing rapid cell division!! 
Scares me with my history.
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