As the victim of an "excisional" melanoma biopsy for an usual but completely benign lichenoid keratosis, it is unbelievable how much tissue they carve out of you for anything that even remotely resembles a melanoma.
This happened 25 years ago, and I am still angry about it.
At the time, I lived just a few blocks from the dermatology clinic of a major university.
They called a clinical conference after I was examined by a resident with less than a month of experience. Every dermo MD and pathologist in the Department came in for a look-see.
They literally talked each other into a state of hysteria. One of the young MDs present was the future president of the American Dermatology Association!
Adjusted for inflation, the entire fiasco cost me almost $5,000.
Exactly a year later, while browsing periodicals at my local library, I glanced at the cover of the New England Journal of Medicine and saw a photograph of the same kind of lesion I had. Apparently, these lesions were being misidentified all over the USA.
Globally, in 2012, it newly occurred in 232,000 people.[2] In 2015, 3.1 million people had active disease, which resulted in 59,800 deaths.
It is very rare to actually have “melanoma,” fortunately. Only 232,000 people, worldwide, get it, per year, or “0.003%” (population is now 7.9 billion).
It sounds like misidentification has got to be off the charts common.
I had a similar encounter with a stupid dermatologist at a hospital for an obvious basal cell carcinoma. Textbook picture, caught super early.
She looked at it and said she’d need to biopsy (no, not necessary). She injected and sliced off the bubble, taking, in her words, “97%” of the tumor, for the test sample.
It was positive as a “basal cell carcinoma,” so she scheduled me for the follow up to take care of the rest. I arrived, and there were two female assistants to help and a cart with an electrodesiccation. I asked her why she was going to do that, when there is a cheap ointment that will cure basal cell. She was astonished I brought it up and said, “Well, men prefer to have scars.” She literally said that!
I told her I wanted the prescription and she gave it to me and I went back a month later and she said that got the remaining 3%.
The STUPID dermatologist should have given me the prescription BEFORE slicing off my skin (got a scar from that, for sure) and if it was basal cell, it would have been confirmed by being affected or cured.
The biopsy, the equipment, the two extra assistants—all of that was PURE WASTE for which I had to pay. The biopsy alone was over $600, after insurance.
The prescription was $30!
Things like that make me quite uptight. It’s a scam AND THE DOCTORS KNOW IT!
Too many doctors are programmed for padding their pockets and not helping the patient. Same with many dentists and their “upsell” methods. Find ones who aren't crazy.