Due to the diagnosis of melanoma, the woman underwent two operations and was forbidden to become pregnant: why is it important to examine moles

Details of the charity event can be found at stop-melanoma.net. It is important that as many people as possible receive information about the insidious disease. And those who will not be able to personally get to the reviews on this day have the opportunity to send photos of suspicious moles and consult online with experienced oncodermatologists for free. An increasing number of specialists from public and private clinics are joining the action. These are hundreds of doctors throughout Ukraine. They will analyze photos of moles within three days from May 20 to May 22, and consult personally on May 22.

“During the charity project (it has already been held in Ukraine 13 times), 1,535 cases of melanoma and 4,331 cases of skin cancer were detected, and in most cases, lives were saved, - speaks initiator of the Melanoma Days in Ukraine Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Olga Bogomolets. - Mortality numbers are steadily declining because we are doing the work with the media, detailing the signs of the disease. FACTS has been supporting us in this since the founding of the Melanoma Day project.”

“I was in despair when I found out that you can’t even think about motherhood”

Victoria began to worry about a small tumor that appeared on the rib, and the woman turned to oncologists at one of the specialized institutes.

- I was immediately offered to remove the education, - recalls Victoria. - When I also showed a mole on my knee and asked if it was dangerous, the doctor advised me to get rid of it. So, they removed that mole for me as well. And a few days later they called by phone from the institute and reported the results of the histology of the mole on the leg: “You have melanoma, you applied on time. And yet, another operation is urgently needed - to remove a larger amount of tissue in order to prevent metastases. ”

Have you heard of melanoma before?

- Yes. Even as a teenager, I watched a program with my mother in which a dermatologist (and this was Olga Vadimovna Bogomolets) told me what a dangerous disease it was. I remember the word “melanoma” well. So when I heard it, I was shocked.

“But did you agree to a second operation?”

- Certainly. I trusted the doctor. On the question of whether it is necessary to consult someone else, to check the diagnosis, the surgeon answered “no”, they say, and so everything is clear. A repeat operation was scheduled just a few days later. When after it I ended up in the ward where there were patients who were diagnosed with skin cancer or melanoma in the later stages, I thought that perhaps I was even lucky … And a large scar on my leg thirteen centimeters long does not matter. The time spent in the walls of the hospital made me rethink my whole life. I thought about what is worth appreciating every minute, what should be feared and what not. It was very scary. The shock was experienced by our whole family - husband, parents. How hard it was for them to be with me! I cried incessantly. But at that moment I did not yet know how I should live on, how many restrictions awaited me.

- What is it about?

“Before I was discharged, the doctor invited me to the office and warned me that now I have to undergo a detailed examination every three months - do an ultrasound, X-ray. This, by the way, is also bad for the body. And about pregnancy, at best, you need to forget for five whole years. It was said so casually! The words of the specialist crossed out my dream of motherhood … My husband and I really wanted to have children. But other things were put on the scales, at that time more important: to live or not to live.

“The mole turned out to be safe”

Fortunately, Victoria’s parents nevertheless persuaded their daughter to go to Olga Bogomolets’ clinic to find out a further plan of action, as well as to hear the opinion of a specialist about the lifestyle, the possibility for Victoria to become pregnant in the future.

- Olga Vadimovna got acquainted with the history of my illness, reassured me, saying that the stage at which the disease was detected is really early, and this gives hope for a good result, that is, I will be a healthy person and will be able to plan the birth of a child, Victoria recalls. - I was thoroughly examined with the help of special instruments, so as not to miss any other suspicious mole. Then the doctor asked to bring slides with biomaterial - samples of diseased tissues, to be examined by a pathologist in the DermpathLab laboratory - the only laboratory in Ukraine specializing in the diagnosis of skin tumors. This turned out to be very important.

The opinion of the specialist was completely different: the dubious mole was actually a benign formation - the Spitz nevus. It is not as dangerous as melanoma, although it is usually recommended to remove it.

“I was amazed when the lab pathologist, a very experienced man, told me that he didn’t see melanoma in Victoria.” Olga Bogomolets recalls. - I decided to check it with colleagues abroad and personally tell Victoria about the results. We both had tears of joy. It’s really a victory when you can return the joy of motherhood to a girl who dreams about it. So, we conducted additional tests (immunohistochemistry), then during telemedicine consultations we showed tissue samples to colleagues from clinics in Poland, Germany, Belgium and other countries. And the specialists of the international consultation confirmed that Victoria has an atypical nevus Spitz. But I didn’t stop. It was a matter of honor for me to find the correct diagnosis. With the help of telemedicine, she contacted colleagues from the United States. And the diagnosis of melanoma was again in question. The next step: we did an analysis of the tumor for melanoma genetic mutations and it did not confirm them. Therefore, nothing threatens Victoria’s future motherhood. You should know: if there is any oncological diagnosis, getting the opinion of a second specialist is simply sacred!

I want to emphasize that such stories happen infrequently. Our specialists are offended if we see a neglected case of melanoma and there is little we can do. Therefore, we try not only on Melanoma Day, which is becoming increasingly important around the world, but at every opportunity, with the assistance of the media, to give more information about melanoma and its symptoms.

- What is important to know?

- It is necessary to pay attention to whether the mole has changed, has it become suspicious? For example, asymmetry, bleeding appeared, the edge, size, color changed. Melanoma does not hurt, but, as it develops, it grows deep into the skin, where there are blood vessels. Then the cancer cells spread throughout the body and metastases form. So, if you notice a mole in yourself or someone close to you on similar grounds, do not waste time. Go to the doctor.

Every year in Ukraine, not only the number of knowledgeable patients is growing, but also the number of experienced specialists. After all, we hold conferences, seminars, train oncodermatologists. I never tire of repeating: if melanoma is detected early, the risk of mortality is 5 percent, and with a delay, it can be 95.

… Victoria and her family consider it a miracle that a woman now has no contraindications to pregnancy. She continues to teach - to teach English. And she hopes that she and her husband will soon raise their children. Vika says:

- Am I offended by the doctors who mistakenly diagnosed me with melanoma? I find it difficult to answer unambiguously. On the one hand, if I continued to believe the surgeon who removed my mole, I would live in constant fear and receive radiation every three months. On the other hand, I understand the risk: what if I really had melanoma? My story is the exception rather than the rule.

And one more thing: perhaps in the life of almost nothing significant accidents. It is no coincidence that my mother and I once stumbled upon a program about melanoma. Then Olga Bogomolets had just begun to attract people to this disease, which few people knew about. And now Olga Vadimovna has become a guardian angel for me, as well as for many other patients whom she managed to save not only from dermatological diseases, but also from depression, despondency and fear.