DermatoFibroSarcoma

MHolley
MHolley Member Posts: 1
in Sarcoma #1
I was diagnosed with DFS in June of 2010. I had a small nodule on my left cheek/hip area. My dr. told me she didn't think it was anything to worry about so therefor I didnt. I noticed when swimsuit season came along you could see the nodule and me the person I am decided it was time to visit a dermatologist. This took approximately a year for me to do this. I had this nodule approximately 2 years before doing anything about it.

After visiting the dermatologist, she performed a bioposy on the nodule also telling me she thought it was benign and didn't think it was anything. A week passes and Im getting a call from the dermatology office telling me I had cancer and wanted to perform the Mohs surgery on me and that I had to travel 4 hours to this specialist that performs those types of surgeries.

It took this dr. 4 times of removing skin to get clear margins around this area. I have a 7 inch scar and they went approximately 2 inches into my skin. This dr. told me i couldn't have got this in a better place considering there was alot of tissue there.

I have since gone a little over a year and only seen my dermatologist once and she said it looked fine. I am now having pains in that area that feel to be coming from muscle. This nodule had roots on it that made it almost into my muscle. I have not had any recurrence with DFS but the area removed is sore and Im afraid that maybe they didn't get it all. I see where people have posted ct scans and stuff and wondering if this is what I should do.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • Moemcn
    Moemcn Member Posts: 5
    #2
    Follow up
    Hi M

    I don't have a lot of experience. I am going for my surgery in early September. However, I would say go with your gut feeling. If you would feel at ease by getting a cat scan, then that's what I would do. You may have better luck with your family doctor. Explain your symptoms and your feelings. It might just be scar tissue, but better to be safe. Especially since the recurrence rate on this cancer is high. Did you say you had clear margins after your surgery? Did you have wide excision or MOHs? I tried to have the MOHs surgery, but was basically refused because my tumor is on my upper abdomen and I was told they only do MOHs on the face or other areas where there isn't a lot of skin. I wish you all the best and hope that it isn't a recurrence.

    I happened to have an appointment with another doctor for something else just the other day. She did say something that made sense. She encouraged a cat scan if only to get a baseline of how things look at a particular time. Then if you have a recurrence they can do a followup scan and do a comparison.

    Take care of yourself.

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