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shellias

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"So, I mentioned yesterday that I’d go into more detail about an unsettling thing I’ve just experienced. I have very fair skin and as a baby boomer in age, I didn’t have good sunblock in my youth. I’ve lived most of my life in the south and southwest. Lots of sun damage to my skin. I’ve been getting skin cancer checks for many years and I’ve had 7 BCCs and SCCs. I’m currently treating two on my face with efudex. These two areas on my face have been of concern to me for a long time. Since I’ve dealt with so many skin cancers, I’m hyper vigilant with my skin. So anyway, every year over the past five years, I’ve pointed these two areas out to my derm during the yearly skin checks. The derm is supposedly very good, and was even voted our city’s “Top Doc” years ago. I trusted this individual. For 5 years in a row, the doc just looked at these areas and said “It’s nothing.” And for 5 years, I accepted this and just went on my way. I’m a very busy person. But these areas were persistent, and both becoming larger. Again I’d bring it up to my derm and I’d get the same response. Finally a couple of months ago, I made an appointment with my derm and came in with explicit instructions to biopsy these two areas. Both SCC. I am a scientist with an advanced degree and I’ve been a consultant for years. I’d I’d made an error this lacking in judgment, I probably would have been out of work years ago. One oversite I can understand. Science is far from perfect. But two suspicious areas times 5 years - this doc bypassed 10 opportunities to biopsy one of these skin lesions. In no scientific community would an error rate like that ever be acceptable. I honestly don’t know what to do. Obviously, I got my lab results, had them give me my records, and I have discharged this person from being one of my providers. But going forward, I don’t know how to find another derm I can trust. Have any of you had a similar experience and how did you find another provider that you could trust? Thank you. "

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  1. Commented on the post It's Only Skin Cancer

About shellias

  • Member Since 2019

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  1. Commented on the post It's Only Skin Cancer