1. < Melanoma & Skin Cancer
Profile picture for Colleen Young, Connect Director
Moderator

Melanoma & Skin Cancer support: Introduce yourself and connect

Posted by Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung, Mar 28, 2025

Welcome to the Melanoma & Skin Cancer support group on Mayo Clinic Connect.

This is a welcoming, safe place where you can meet others living with skin cancer or caring for someone with skin cancer, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), Merkel cell carcinoma, sebaceous carcinoma, and their treatments. Let's learn from each other and share stories about living well with cancer, coping with the challenges and offering tips.

Take these steps to participate in the group:

  • Follow the group.
  • Browse topics.
  • Use the group search to find answers to your questions.
  • Introduce yourself.

Pull up a chair and chat. Why not start by introducing yourself? What is your experience, or your loved one’s experience, living with melanoma or skin cancer (i.e., what type, how long since diagnosis, how it’s managed)?

Do you have a question, tip or story to share?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Support Group.

Profile picture for vickiegoins
vickiegoins | @vickiegoins | 4 days ago
In reply to @grammato3 "@vickiegoins: I see this is your first time posting at Mayo Clinic Connect so as a..." + (show)
Profile picture for Susan, Volunteer Mentor @grammato3

@vickiegoins: I see this is your first time posting at Mayo Clinic Connect so as a mentor here and as one who has also treated for malignant melanoma I'd like to extend a welcome to you. I remember feeling utterly devastated when I got my diagnosis, at age 63, that I had this malignancy and would require a wide local excision with reconstruction as the lesion was on my cheek, adjacent to my nose. I did undergo the procedure at a surgicenter about 2 months after diagnosis.

Of the three types of skin cancer - basal cell (BCC), squamous cell (SCC) and melanoma - the latter is the most serious due to the potential to spread to distant organs, even in cases where it may appear to bypass the lymph nodes. Therefore, there is a great risk of leaving malignant melanoma untreated due to the great potential for metastasis and mortality. With early intervention, such risk can be reduced tremendously.

This explains more about melanoma including the rationale for surgery: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/cancer/understanding-melanoma-treatment-options-and-how-they-work. You can see that not only does the lesion itself need to be excised, but a portion surrounding it to be certain all the cancerous cells have been removed and the margins remain clear; this is performed in hopes of preventing further spread that could not be ascertained by any other method (such as radiation). Following surgery, other interventions may be utilized, especially if the melanoma has been found to have metastasized.

You have referenced your age, which I see is not substainally older than myself now, as a reason to to avoid this type of surgery. Can you tell me more about why you feel this way?

Jump to this post

@grammato3
The dermatologist and surgeon indicates most of my nose will need to be removed with reconstruction as a forehead flap. According to the surgeon, the surgery will be very challenging and hard and reconstruction and recovery will be long. I am horrified. Is there not any other treatments other than this major surgery?

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for Susan, Volunteer Mentor
Mentor
Susan, Volunteer Mentor | @grammato3 | 4 days ago
In reply to @vickiegoins "@grammato3 The dermatologist and surgeon indicates most of my nose will need to be removed with..." + (show)
Profile picture for vickiegoins @vickiegoins

@grammato3
The dermatologist and surgeon indicates most of my nose will need to be removed with reconstruction as a forehead flap. According to the surgeon, the surgery will be very challenging and hard and reconstruction and recovery will be long. I am horrified. Is there not any other treatments other than this major surgery?

Jump to this post

@vickiegoins: So to be sure I understand correctly, it's not so much your age that's worrying you, it's the extent and complexity of the surgery and perhaps the cosmetic results that are concerning you, is that it?

As to your question again about alternative treatment, I just need to be sure you understand that this is first and foremost a forum where you can meet others with similar health issues, however, it is not a place to get professional medical advice. We can learn a lot from participants who share their experiences and exchange information with others. We as mentors often post research and documentation from Mayo and other reputable sources to support medical topics, such as the one I referenced earlier that explained how and why malignant melanoma is treated by excision. As a patient myself who went on to have metastatic melanoma, I have been actively involved in organizations dedicated to the treatment of this condition, such as AIM at Melanoma Foundation https://www.aimatmelanoma.org/stages-of-melanoma/stage-i/. To my knowledge, there is no other alternative at this time for initial intervention. (And, I have to add, my immunotherapy for that condition has been successful to date in the two years since it was discovered). However, I need to underscore that I am not a medical provider or an expert in the field.

It's understandable you have concerns. Keeping in mind that time may play a role in not delaying interention too long, have you considered getting a second opinion?

REPLY
Profile picture for 00hjabl72
00hjabl72 | @00hjabl72 | 4 days ago
In reply to @vickiegoins "I have malignant melanoma 0.8 Beslow depth (stage one) on my nose. Dermatologist recommends Mohs surgery..." + (show)
Profile picture for vickiegoins @vickiegoins

I have malignant melanoma 0.8 Beslow depth (stage one) on my nose. Dermatologist recommends Mohs surgery but saying I will need a forehead flap. I absolutely do not want to go through that at my age of 74. Are there any other options or treatments. PET scan was good, removed 3 sentinel lymph nodes, they were clear. Do you have any suggestions for treatment other than forehead flap surgery?

Jump to this post

@vickiegoins Had MOHS performed couple years back on left ear. Took 1 month, 3 visits. Good luck.

REPLY
Profile picture for 00hjabl72
00hjabl72 | @00hjabl72 | 4 days ago
In reply to @grammato3 "@vickiegoins: I see this is your first time posting at Mayo Clinic Connect so as a..." + (show)
Profile picture for Susan, Volunteer Mentor @grammato3

@vickiegoins: I see this is your first time posting at Mayo Clinic Connect so as a mentor here and as one who has also treated for malignant melanoma I'd like to extend a welcome to you. I remember feeling utterly devastated when I got my diagnosis, at age 63, that I had this malignancy and would require a wide local excision with reconstruction as the lesion was on my cheek, adjacent to my nose. I did undergo the procedure at a surgicenter about 2 months after diagnosis.

Of the three types of skin cancer - basal cell (BCC), squamous cell (SCC) and melanoma - the latter is the most serious due to the potential to spread to distant organs, even in cases where it may appear to bypass the lymph nodes. Therefore, there is a great risk of leaving malignant melanoma untreated due to the great potential for metastasis and mortality. With early intervention, such risk can be reduced tremendously.

This explains more about melanoma including the rationale for surgery: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/cancer/understanding-melanoma-treatment-options-and-how-they-work. You can see that not only does the lesion itself need to be excised, but a portion surrounding it to be certain all the cancerous cells have been removed and the margins remain clear; this is performed in hopes of preventing further spread that could not be ascertained by any other method (such as radiation). Following surgery, other interventions may be utilized, especially if the melanoma has been found to have metastasized.

You have referenced your age, which I see is not substainally older than myself now, as a reason to to avoid this type of surgery. Can you tell me more about why you feel this way?

Jump to this post

@grammato3 I merely replied duration of my mohs for my melanoma procedure to someone who was opposed to getting a nose flap . There is no choice to get that mohs. Melanoma killed my entire family, now knocking at my door

REPLY
1 reply
Profile picture for Susan, Volunteer Mentor
Mentor
Susan, Volunteer Mentor | @grammato3 | 3 days ago
In reply to @00hjabl72 "@grammato3 I merely replied duration of my mohs for my melanoma procedure to someone who was..." + (show)
Profile picture for 00hjabl72 @00hjabl72

@grammato3 I merely replied duration of my mohs for my melanoma procedure to someone who was opposed to getting a nose flap . There is no choice to get that mohs. Melanoma killed my entire family, now knocking at my door

Jump to this post

@00hjabl72: I'm so sorry to hear about your family's history with melanoma. Years ago, this diagnosis had carried a 10 year survival rate of approximately 5%. These days, the success rate for metastatic melanoma (cases where melanoma has spread to distant organs) has reached or surpassed 50% . For localized melanoma, such as in cases where it's detected on the skin and has not spread and treatment such as Mohs or WLE is performed, the rate of 5 year survival reaches 99%. This does indeed underscore the need for prompt detection and early intervention. In the scheme of things, trading a scar for a cure would tend to be the ultimate goal to achieve, however, it is a major life change and may require the intervention of a therapist to arrive at such acceptance if there is difficulty in coming to this type of conclusion especially if it involves the prospect of mortality.

Did you find it challenging to accept this when you had been given the diagnosis in light of your family history? If so, what steps did you find helpful in moving forward?

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.